Washington

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.

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.