2023 MID-YEAR REVIEW - In the first half of 2023, several rule changes have been proposed by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including changes to...more
On September 14, 2022, the SEC announced a settled administrative order, also dated September 14 (“Order”), imposing penalties, including a $100,000 fine, on a registered broker (the “Broker”) for failing to (1)...more
Last week, the SEC entered orders against three underwriters for failing to comply with Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) Rule 15c2-12. These actions serve as a good reminder for compliance checks and...more
The SEC recently brought fraud charges against Sterlington, Louisiana and its former mayor and separately against Rochester, New York and its former executives and Rochester’s municipal advisors and principals/owners...more
Since September 2021, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) has brought five enforcement actions regarding municipal bond financings. The issuers of these bonds are Sweetwater Union High School...more
One year into the Trump administration, it remains difficult to forecast what lies ahead with respect to regulatory and white collar enforcement activity. Perhaps most instructive are recent public statements of officials at...more
A settlement announced this week by the SEC serves as a reminder that the Commission is in the process of reviewing the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation participants, and that it will continue to pursue...more
On August 24, the SEC announced settled administrative actions against 71 state and local issuers arising from $3.7 trillion in municipal securities offerings. The Commission alleged the issuers made false statements...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced enforcement actions against 71 municipal issuers of bonds in connection with the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative. The...more
On August 24, 2016, the SEC announced that it had entered into settlement orders with 71 municipal issuers and other obligated persons for violations of federal securities laws in municipal bond offerings. The issuers and...more
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it brought enforcement actions against 71 municipal issuers and other obligated persons as part of the SEC’s Municipalities Continuing Disclosure...more
On August 24, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced enforcement actions against 71 municipal issuers and other obligated persons (collectively, the municipal issuers) under the SEC’s Municipalities...more
Municipal bond offerings have become a key focus of SEC Enforcement. The agency has brought a series of actions in addition to an initiative that encourages the self-reporting of underwriters in return for reduced sanctions....more
The SEC filed fourteen settled actions against municipal underwriting firms this week. The settlements were part of a program that commenced in 2014 called the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative. The...more
On September 30 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced another round of enforcement actions against 22 municipal underwriting firms for disclosure violations in connection with municipal bond offerings. The...more
On September 30, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced enforcement actions against 22 municipal bond underwriters, the second round of enforcement actions brought by the SEC under the Municipalities...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week announced enforcement actions under its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative, targeting 22 municipal bond underwriting firms for alleged due...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to increase its enforcement efforts in the municipal bond market by focusing on the sufficiency and timeliness of disclosure in initial municipal securities...more
Regulatory Developments - SEC Proposes to Amend Administrative Proceedings Rules: On Sept. 24 the SEC announced that it had voted to propose amendments to rules governing its administrative proceedings. The...more
Regulatory Developments: DOL Releases Transcripts of Fiduciary Standard Hearings - The Department of Labor (DOL) has released the transcripts of the hearings held by the agency in August on its proposed fiduciary...more
Issuers of municipal securities (including conduit borrowers) are required to comply with certain disclosure requirements when preparing official statements or other offering documents, submitting continuing disclosure...more
On June 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced enforcement actions against 36 municipal bond underwriters, the first enforcement actions against underwriters brought by the SEC under the...more
Last week, the National Association of Bond Lawyers held its 13th Annual Tax and Securities Law Institute. Some of the panels included current and former employees of the SEC who spoke on several of the more notable recent...more
This Outline highlights key U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) enforcement developments and cases regarding broker dealers.* The...more
In a first-time use of the Dodd-Frank Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Allen Park, Mich., its former mayor and its former city administrator with fraud in connection with $31 million in...more