SEC enforcement

SEC Chair Gary Gensler's pick for enforcement director resigned just days after being announced.

The surprise move was announced Wednesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission statement.

The new director will be familiar with pay-to-play enforcement and public accounting fraud, which are important in the muni space.

The pair of unregistered brokers will pay over $2 million in civil penalties.

The case is significant because so many municipal market participants rely on audited financial statements.

A federal judge agreed with the SEC that the Chicago suburb must prove the status of reforms agreed to in settling allegations the city misused bond proceeds.

His experience as an active regulator as head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission may transfer to his new post.

Sources say pricing of bonds will be a prevalent issue in 2021 following comments made by bipartisan SEC commissioners.

The default-ridden Chicago suburb says the court's action to give it back control of its water operation could aid its 2021 objective of restructuring debt.

Lincoln Way school district in suburban Chicago moved further back up the investment grade ladder with a Moody's Investors Service upgrade.

Republican Commissioner Elad Roisman was named SEC acting chair and is unlikely to push any major initiatives in his short time, but he does have a focus on fixed income markets.

The firm violated municipal advertising and fair dealing rules, the SEC found.

As co-director of the Enforcement Division, Stephanie Avakian oversaw charges the SEC made against municipal bond “flipping” schemes.

SCANA Corp. and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. will pay a $25 million penalty for making false and misleading statements about the failed reactor project.

An unregistered investment adviser told the city he would invest $9 million of its funds, but instead transferred some of the money to himself, the SEC found.

During his leadership, Clayton oversaw amendments to Rule 15c-12 and pushed for more transparency in the municipal market.

Public finance made up just 3% of total standalone enforcement cases.

Harvey has failed to fully implement an independent consultant's recommendations in violation of a 2014 settlement that resolved securities charges, the SEC says.

Current SEC Chair Jay Clayton will likely not be reappointed as both President Trump and Joe Biden are likely to pick chairs more aligned with their political parties.

Securities lawyers and the trade group for municipal advisors agree unregistered muni advisors shouldn't still be ignorant of the law.