Municipal disclosure

Some industry observers still question the need for machine-readable municipal disclosure.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Public Finance Abuse Division began looking in new directions, charging five different firms with violating 15c2-12 limited offering exemptions in addition to going after issuer officials.

Municipal issuers pushed hard but unsuccessfully against the bill, which gives them four years to standardize their financial information.

The latest version of a controversial financial disclosure bill includes changes that benefit muni issuers after a major push by the public finance lobby.

The provision shifts rulemaking and enforcement of the new disclosure standards to the SEC from the MSRB, which was charged with the task in an original version.

The MSRB's latest request for comment has won initial praise from broker-dealer groups.

Federal emergency aid, while protecting against downgrades and defaults in areas hit by extreme weather, won't bail out areas that face less visible climate effects like rising heat.

A lack of standards from regulators and ratings agencies leaves municipal credit analysts "on their own" when it comes to evaluating climate-related risks.

The influential financial advisory board has assembled a task force to sharpen terminology.

As issuers push against a financial disclosure bill pending in the Senate, some buy-siders say standardized disclosure would attract more investors and boost liquidity.