Municipal disclosure

Natural disaster disclosure warrants 'a special focus,' NFMA's 2025 chair says.

While the White Lake, Michigan, township hack is the best-known and publicly disclosed cyberattack, there have been others. Some issuers and firms are reluctant to share these experiences publicly.

Belvia Gray, Public Finance Leader at Baker Tilly, talks about the firm's efforts and focus on bringing the industry together on cyber security threats, succession planning and more.

The unpredictable nature of legislating leads most to holding off on disclosure changes until a bill becomes a law.

"It is the first step but that doesn't mean there's a second step," said John Bagley, the MSRB's chief market structure officer.

The comments come after SEC asked for feedback on the collection of information in Rule 15c2-12.

Kim Olsan, senior fixed-income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital, discusses the municipal market's performance, the impact of rising yields and inflation, and the evolving role of ETFs and separately managed accounts as the market braces for record supply in 2025.

It's hard enough convincing local governments to spend money on cyber insurance that covers ransomware attacks, said Omid Rahmani, public finance cybersecurity lead at Fitch Ratings. The new and very specific threat of a hacked financing process, is "absolutely" underappreciated by the public finance industry.

The NFMA has floated best disclosure practices for public power agencies that ask for more data on climate and resiliency goals.

The increase in the muni market's size, number of novel credits and retail investors suggest it's "finally time" for direct SEC regulation, argue market veterans Kent Hiteshew and David Dubrow.