Washington

Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher has sworn to take up the cause of municipal market reform at the SEC, accepting the baton from Elisse Walter, who recently left the commission.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers announced Thursday that it will present service awards to three recipients when the group meets in Chicago later this month.

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Jo White's annual salary is $165,300, far below the base compensation of any of the top-paid, full-time officials of 21 self-regulatory, industry, government, and other municipal securities-related groups, most of which the SEC either oversees or have members the commission regulates or protects.

Groups representing broker-dealers and issuers have sent a joint letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission complaining that the Municipal Securities Rulemaking board had sent SEC an amendment for approval without offering it for public comment, a charge the MSRB denied.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve rule changes on standards for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, saying they will increase investor representation on the board.

Several state and local groups have filed a comment letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the SEC not to adopt a money market fund reform proposal which would of require a floating net asset value instead of the current $1 per share fixed value.

One of the first jail bond deals the Internal Revenue Service ever audited, a Texas transaction that that appears to have prompted IRS reviews for dozens of similar deals, may be headed for settlement.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Thursday that it has fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC $1 million and ordered the company to pay $188,000 in restitution plus interest for violations of municipal and corporate bond rules.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking board has released new guidance for issuers in deciding when to hire and how to compensate municipal advisors.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is proposing to consolidate into a revised Rule A-12 and form its existing requirements, along with some changes, for registration of broker-dealers and municipal advisors.