Washington

WASHINGTON – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has decided to propose an explicit best execution rule for dealers in the municipal market, MSRB officials said Tuesday, calling it "a very significant development for the municipal market."

The SEC and former JPMorgan bankers asked a federal court to exclude experts in the pay-to-play suit involving Jefferson County, Ala.'s sewer deals.

The Public Finance Network, elected public officials and dealer groups are urging bank regulators to categorize municipal securities as high quality liquid assets in a proposed rule, warning the failure to do so would significantly harm the municipal market and state and local governments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will spend the next few years acting on the recommendations in its 2012 municipal market report as well as strengthening muni advisor oversight, according to the SEC's draft strategic plan released Monday.

Dealer groups told issuer officials Jan. 30 that they have many unanswered questions under the Securities and Exchange Commission's registration rule, as broker-dealers work to keep municipalities informed about their efforts to comply with the rule before its July 1 effective date.

U.S. banking regulators are proposing to exclude municipal securities as high quality liquid assets in a rule designed to ensure banks and other large financial institutions are equipped to handle severe financial and economic stress.

The SEC will release more guidance on technical aspects of its municipal advisor registration rule prior to the rule's July 1 effective date, John Cross told issuer officials Thursday.

Sentencing for convicted bid-rigger David Rubin has been pushed back until March 6 because his attorney will not be able to be present during the previously scheduled Feb. 3 date.

The Securities and Exchange Commission used a combination of its antifraud authority and SEC Rule 15c2-12 in 2013 to raise the bar for issuers' secondary municipal market disclosures.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposal to consolidate its existing rules on pricing and execution, as well as fair dealing guidance, into a single new fair pricing rule.