Washington

Dealers want the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to reduce the cost of compliance and to move quickly to finish the municipal advisor rules, while issuers are unsure they want the MSRB's protection.

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board chair Kym Arnone wants the board to finish the municipal advisor rules and take more steps to improve transparency before the end what she says is the hardest job she has ever loved in a nearly 30-year muni career.

The Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority filed a lawsuit this week against their former bond counsel and financial advisor, alleging they were negligent when they advised that $219.49 million of bonds issued in 2006 would be tax exempt.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is proposing to establish limits on the gifts and non-cash benefits municipal advisors can provide in their professional capacities.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced Wednesday that it will discuss municipal advisor pay-to-play rulemaking, market transparency enhancement initiatives, and asset-backed securities disclosure when it meets in Alexandria, Va. Oct. 29-31.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced on Wednesday that it will be offering a free six-week video series to educate municipal securities investors about fundamental disclosure documents.

Three House members are pushing bank regulators to amend their liquidity rule to include investment grade municipal securities as high-quality liquid assets.

John Cross will leave as director of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities next month to succeed Vicky Tsilas as the Treasury Department's associate tax legislative counsel, according to the SEC and sources. Tsilas is rejoining Ballard Spahr in January.

Market participants are concerned that language in the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal to remove references to credit ratings from its Rule 2a-7 governing money market funds could be too restrictive on what securities MMFs could purchase.

The Bond Dealers of America is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to crack down on non-dealer municipal advisors acting as unlicensed broker-dealers by assisting municipalities in placing their debt through the direct placement markets.