Washington

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined three firms $76,500 for violating rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is requesting feedback on, among other things, whether its rules impose undue burdens on market participants, and how those burdens could be alleviated.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo will pay municipal bond issuers a total of nearly $78 million to settle a civil class-action lawsuit claiming the banks manipulated bidding for guaranteed investment contracts.

Bond Dealers of America reminded lawmakers Thursday that the so-called Volcker Rule could restrict liquidity in the muni bond market and raise issuers' costs.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking has proposed requiring underwriters to file issuers' preliminary official statements on the EMMA system in an effort to boost pre-trade transparency in the new-issue muni market.

The outgoing Massachusetts Democrat, whose personal investments included roughly $900,000 of municipal bonds last year, says there's little reason for regulators to tighten oversight of general-obligation bonds.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has changed how it calculates "bid to cover" ratios for auction-rate securities to make the data more indicative of investor demand.

In response to a spate of municipal bankruptcies and ongoing fiscal challenges at the local level, the California Treasurer's office has embarked on a project aimed at predicting cities' likelihood of defaulting on bonds.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will request public comments on its roughly 300-page rule book in December, part of a multi-year review to ensure its rules are effective, efficient and reflect changing market conditions.

A diverse group of associations with ties to the municipal bond market expect to publish a paper early next year that will give state and local governments guidance on how and when to disclose loans they receive direct from banks.