Washington

Dan Heimowitz first got into public finance because of a devastating financial crisis in his hometown. Decades later, he's overseeing rulemaking covering a whole new class of regulated firms and individuals.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has released some best practice guidance designed to help firms comply with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's Rule G-43 on broker's brokers.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined five firms and three individuals for violations of municipal securities requirements, including Barclays Capital Inc., which was directed to pay $200,000 for using bond proceeds to reimburse itself for membership in a lobbying group.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has requested public comment on whether to require dealers to ensure that their municipal securities staff receive annual muni bond training.

Additional guidance from the SEC should provide some clarity to how the proposed trading restrictions under its new municipal advisor registration rule apply to municipal issuers, a securities industry official said.

Robert Rizzo, former city manager of Bell, Calif., agreed on Thursday to plead guilty to federal charges of tax evasion.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has created an advisory group and asked users of its Electronic Municipal Market Access, EMMA, website to respond to a survey to better understand how the site is used and how it can be improved.

Ken Bentsen was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association on Thursday, replacing former Sen. Judd Gregg, who stepped down to become a senior advisor to the group.

A federal appeals court freed three convicted bid-riggers from prison just before Thanksgiving because the statute of limitations had run out on their alleged violations, according to the court’s newly released opinion.

Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to clarify that its municipal advisor registration rule will permit dealers to provide tailored advice to issuers about municipal bonds and then underwrite those bond issues later.