The U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division is conducting a general inquiry into whether certain brokers’ brokers have engaged in anti-competitive practices with regard to pricing for secondary market and other municipal bond trades, according to industry officials.

Arbitration panels ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. and its subsidiary in Puerto Rico to pay more than $5.44 million to investors in the firm's proprietary closed-end mutual funds that predominantly contained Puerto Rico bonds.

A U.S. district court judge has scheduled a trial for late summer of next year in the Securities and Exchange Commission case against the city of Miami and Michael Boudreaux, the city's former budget director.

Three federal appeals court judges dismissed a challenge Tuesday to the Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play rule for investment advisors that has similarities to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's own pay-to-play rule for broker-dealers.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers released a paper Thursday giving its members tools to help issuer clients develop written disclosure policies and procedures in response to recent Securities and Exchange Commission cases against issuers.

Bracewell & Giuliani partner Shamoil T. Shipchandler will head the Fort Worth regional office of the Securities and Exchange Commission beginning in October, the agency said.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered seven broker-dealer firms to pay a total of more than $90,641 to settle charges of muni trade reporting failures and excessive markups, as well as engaging in muni business without qualified personnel.

Two Citigroup companies agreed to pay $180 million on Monday to settle charges they defrauded investors by misrepresenting that investments in two now-defunct hedge funds were safe, low-risk and suitable for traditional bond investors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censored and fined UBS Financial Services $750,000 for falsely representing to its customers that the interest on their municipal bond payments was tax-exempt when it was taxable.

Pennsylvania issued a request for proposals to hire a law firm to initiate clawback from participants in the Harrisburg incinerator bond financing fiasco.

Securities and Exchange Commission members are calling for the adoption of rules requiring broker-dealers to disclose markups and markdowns on municipal securities, warning that if self-regulators do not act, the SEC will propose the rules itself.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for an extension to decide whether to approve the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed Rule G-42 on the core duties of municipal advisors.

The Senate Appropriations Committee's fiscal 2016 financial services bill would significantly underfund the Securities and Exchange Commission and undermine the Internal Revenue Service's ability to carry out basic functions, Office of Management and Budget director Shaun Donovan warned committee leaders in a letter this week.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board issued a media advisory on Tuesday warning of possible problems its anti-pay-to-play rule could cause for governors who are running for president and Wall Street firms that may contribute to them.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans later this year to propose changes to Rules G-37, on political contributions, and G-20, on gifts and gratuities, to extend these dealer rules to municipal advisors, the executive director said on Tuesday.

A coalition of state and city finance officials led by Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner wants the SEC to require greater transparency from PE firms that manage public pension funds.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined three firms a total of $57,500 for municipal bond trade reporting violations. The self-regulator also suspended a former broker-dealer cashier for six months for fictitious trades.

Mayor Stephen Reed "could not have acted alone," Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said in announcing corruption charges.

Two senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would give the Securities and Exchange Commission the ability to levy higher civil monetary penalties against firms and individuals for securities law violations.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP attorneys take a look at the Securities and Exchange Commission settlements with 36 municipal securities underwriters pursuant to the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative.