Securities law

The MSRB has taken the relatively rare step of asking for public comments on a draft set of frequently asked questions related to the board's primary muni advisor rule.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board wants to prepare broker-dealers for a forthcoming seismic regulatory change.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's spending would be beefed up and its focus on retail investors and self-regulators in the municipal market would be increased under the fiscal 2019 budget request made public Monday.

The Bond Dealers of America is proposing a multi-faceted "business plan" that would give dealers more time to comply with a rule requiring them to disclose their markups and markdowns to retail customers.

MA and broker-dealer compliance with relatively new rules, as well as the MSRB and FINRA, will be in the spotlight.

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe will establish its second-largest public finance team in Houston with more than two dozen hires from Andrews Kurth Kenyon.

All but one of the remaining defendants in the Securities and Exchange Commission's case against Ramapo, N.Y., have agreed to settlement terms, according to court documents.

The sanctions involved eight transactions of Alaska bonds issued in 2015 and FINRA found the firm had inadequate supervisory procedures.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's decisions at last week's board meeting reveal that it feels a sense of urgency as the clock ticks down toward the effective date of its landmark markup disclosure rule.

SIFMA is urging the MSRB to be more forthcoming in providing interpretive guidance to dealers and other regulated entities.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board issued a report saying its oversight of the muni market without enforcement power is among the advantages it offers as a self-regulator.

Municipal advisors would be subject to most of the same requirements as dealers under a proposed new advertising rule, but would be even more limited in certain ways.

The Consumer Financial Choice and Capital Markets Protection Act of 2017 would modify 2014 regulations in a way that would benefit municipal bonds and state and local governments.

The bill would restore an important source of liquidity for state and local governments and the financing of critical infrastructure projects in communities across the nation.

Three firms and an individual were fined a total of $187,500 for a range of rule violations related to the use of alternative trading systems, spending during rating agency trips, unsuitable trading, and untimely reporting of munis.

The first meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee focused mostly on corporate bonds and barely addressed the municipal securities market.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s net assets rose about $5.1 million to $74.4M in fiscal 2017, according to audited financial statements, adding to a healthy reserve the MSRB said it needs to ensure uninterrupted operations.

Best execution, suitability, and other areas of concern for the municipal as well as corporate markets are among FINRA regulatory and exam priorities for 2018.

The SEC's first muni enforcement case of the year shows its willingness to use the Dodd Frank Act to punish some breaches of fiduciary duty that hadn't yet been spelled out by the MSRB.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is looking for five people knowledgeable about the muni market to sit on its board starting Oct. 1.