Washington

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has issued a concept release on whether it should require municipal advisors to disclose information about the bank loans or privately placed municipal securities of their issuer clients

House members are considering legislation for Puerto Rico that would mandate the creation of a federal oversight board and make it responsible for restructuring the territory’s debt and determining the priority of debt obligations and pension payments, several sources said on Wednesday.

The best execution rule, which took effect this week, may solidify a market shift concentrating retail customers in a few large firms, while others seek just to keep their institutional business running smoothly, market participants said.

Several of the Supreme Court Justices seemed sympathetic with Puerto Rico’s complaints that a federal appeals court ruling striking down its debt recovery law for its utilities leaves it “in a no man’s land” where it “is not entitled to the benefits,” but “ is subject to the burdens” of Chapter 9.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday approved a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposal that extends MSRB board term lengths to four years from three.

Republican lawmakers from both the Senate and House introduced legislation on Thursday that would make the courts, rather than federal agencies, responsible for interpreting and determining the reasonableness of federal rules.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined Edward Jones $200,000 for misrepresenting taxable customer interest as tax-exempt and failing to adequately monitor its supervisory systems meant to address short positions the firm had in municipal bonds.

For the first time in the municipal securities market, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday charged a municipal advisory firm, its chief executive officer, and two of its employees for breaching their fiduciary duty by failing to disclose a conflict of interest to a municipal client.

Westlands Water District, Calif. is on Fitch Ratings' rating watch negative after it was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management has issued a guidance document urging funds with exposure to Puerto Rico debt to continually update their disclosures based on the risks associated with their investments.