Washington

New York City public advocate Letitia James has filed a friend of the court brief in support of the Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play restriction on investment advisers, which is under attack in a lawsuit filed by two state Republican parties last year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating bonds issued in 2013 by the former scandal-ridden Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and underwritten by Citi.

Legislation that would allow government-owned corporations in Puerto Rico to reorganize through Chapter 9 may face an uphill battle after drawing a lukewarm reception from Republicans on a House panel Thursday.

The Federal Reserve is working to identify municipal securities that could be treated as high-quality liquid assets under rules requiring banks to maintain liquidity coverage ratios, Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen told members of a House committee.

Par volume traded for municipal securities was $2.77 trillion in 2014, the lowest volume in over a decade, according to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board fact book released Wednesday.

Conduit issuers and dealers face challenges under the eight month–old municipal advisor registration rule, though most market participants say the new regime is running fairly smoothly.

The SEC concluded without charges an investigation it launched into Bell, Calif.'s bond debt in 2010 after fraud perpetuated on the city by the former administration came to light.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is still seeking a leader for its Office of Municipal Securities, and is keeping its search open until next month.

Public policy scholar Dall Forsythe will join the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as a public member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Fippinger, who is becoming the MSRB's chief legal officer.

Securities and Exchange Commission officials are seeking changes to practices in the municipal market and more stringent actions to enforce rules protecting investors.