Washington

Issuers are not likely to change the Securities and Exchange Commission staff’s minds about the violations they have disclosed under the commission’s municipal self-reporting initiative, the commission’s top cop for municipal securities enforcement said on Thursday.

Most issuers that obtained bank loans in 2015 did not hurt their credit quality, but some had bank loans with terms that adversely impacted credit quality. Increased disclosure of bank loans obtained, as well as their terms, is needed, according to a Standard & Poor’s report released on Wednesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged California's largest agricultural water district and two officials with misleading investors about its financial condition when it issued $77 million of bonds in 2012.

The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a hearing on March 15 to consider Lisa Fairfax and Hester Peirce, President Obama’s two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association wants municipal securities transactions to be closed out within 15 days of settlement, rather than the 30 days proposed by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged a Rhode Island agency, its underwriter, and three individuals associated with $75 million of 2010 bonds for a startup video game company with defrauding investors by not revealing the complete financial status of the company or the extent of the compensation arrangement with the underwriter.

Municipal bond trading volume fell 13% during 2015 while the overall number of trades remained relatively stable, continuing a pattern that stretches back to 2007, according to data released Thursday by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

John Fechter, managing director and head of taxable trading at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis, Mo., has been chosen to chair Bond Dealers of America this year by the group's members.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Wednesday it is pushing back the effective date for several amendments to its trade reporting rule to July 18 from May 23 to align them with the date for similar Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirements.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed proposed amendments to two rules with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday in an effort to move the municipal securities market to a two- instead three-day settlement cycle.