Washington

“Don’t fear the Fed” and looming interest rate increases, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research told municipal analysts meeting here Wednesday

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s appellate tribunal has revised its sanction guidelines, proposing significant increases in the highest level of fines for disciplinary actions and tougher sanctions for cases involving fraud and recommendations of unsuitable investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has frequently pursued recent municipal market enforcement actions in federal court rather than in front of its own administrative law judges, where critics have charged that the SEC enjoys a distinct home field advantage.

The annual average length of time between the end of the fiscal year and the date on which audited financial statements were submitted to EMMA was 448 days in 2014, sharply above the average of 342 days in 2013, a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board report found.

Default rates are far higher for corporates than for munis with the same ratings, a discrepancy regulators are hoping to address with a rule that takes effect June 15.

A bipartisan coalition of House members has introduced legislation that would require federal banking regulators to treat certain municipal securities held by large banks and other financial institutions as high-quality liquid assets

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority faced criticism from House Republicans Friday wondered if the broker-dealer self-regulator is too heavy-handed with small firms.

Rep. Rep. Bill Pascrell, who keeps a Lucite encased drinking water pipe in his office as a reminder of the "very serious and urgent" need, has continued to press for his Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act.

U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli has until May 20 to respond to a request from Miami, Fla.'s former budget director that the Supreme Court hear his argument that he should be shielded from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to publish interpretive guidance on its best execution rule no later than July, MSRB chair Kym Arnone said Monday.