Washington

The National Association of Bond Lawyers has announced nominees for officers and directors of its board as well as the recipients of its awards.

"Detroit's a much better credit than it was two years ago," its former emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, told a municipal bond market group.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans later this year to propose changes to Rules G-37, on political contributions, and G-20, on gifts and gratuities, to extend these dealer rules to municipal advisors, the executive director said on Tuesday.

Proposed rule changes by the Federal Reserve are so restrictive that they would either substantially reduce or exclude municipal securities from being considered high-quality liquid assets in liquidity coverage ratios banks have to meet and, as a result, would hurt the municipal market, dealer groups and issuers are warning.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill Thursday that would provide $1.5 billion of funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission in fiscal year 2016, the same amount as the fiscal 2015 enacted level and $222 million less than the commission requested earlier this year.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board revised its three online information facilities to add references to the self-regulator's core operational hours and highlight the 24/7 availability of a number of the systems' functions.

A coalition of state and city finance officials led by Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner wants the SEC to require greater transparency from PE firms that manage public pension funds.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, at its meeting next week, plans to discuss draft guidance on its best execution rule, its proposal to require dealers to provide pricing information to customers, and the reaction to its bid to ease standards for the public investor representative on its board.

The Government Finance Officers Association took issue with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed easing of standards for one public board position, saying the changes could affect the balance of power and lead to candidates who do not represent the best interests of investors.

Micah Green, a former president of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and six others have moved to Steptoe & Johnson LLP’s financial services practice here from Squire Patton Boggs.