Washington

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has asked the Treasury Department to investigate whether it was appropriate to use Build America Bonds to help finance the construction of a large coal-fired plant known as Prairie State Energy Campus, which has experienced cost overruns and operational problems that are hurting municipalities, electric cooperatives and 2.5 million ratepayers across eight states.

Incoming NABL board president Scott Lilienthal discusses sequestration, the fiscal cliff, the SEC report and other issues the group expects to face in the next 12 months.

The District of Columbia's Chief Financial Officer will hand over nearly three years of internal audits and add a disclosure to the district's most recent debt issuance after a request from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has proposed rule changes designed to both streamline underwriters' submission of new-issue bond information and reduce reporting errors.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman Mary Schapiro criticized the dominant pay model for ratings agencies on Tuesday.

An international proposal that would stipulate the amount of capital banks must hold against assets could discourage banks from buying municipal bonds, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

David Lerner Associates Inc. has agreed to pay some $4.3 million in fines and restitution for charging excessive markups on transactions of municipal bonds and collateralized-mortgage obligations between 2005 and 2012.

Marcy Edwards, senior financial policy advisor to the District of Columbia's chief financial officer, has been named a public board member of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the MSRB announced Monday.

The SEC could tighten oversight of muni underwriters or adopt a "three strike system" for issuers if lawmakers fail to grant the SEC authority to set disclosure standards for issuers, a top regulator said Friday.

Walter Timpone, the defense attorney for one of the three convicted former banking executives in the muni bond bid-rigging trial is confident about an appeal.