On July 26, a financial firm accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) from FINRA for allegedly charging unfair prices in corporate and municipal bond transactions and for allegedly failing to establish a...more
In the first half of 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued several fines and suspensions against participants in the municipal market, including for violations of its registration, reporting,...more
Starting today, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, the amendments to Securities Exchange Act Rule 15c6-1 take effect, shortening the settlement cycle for most broker-dealer securities transactions to the trade date plus one business day...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Companies - Quick Take: The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (Staff) recently issued responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) covering the SEC’s...more
Increasingly, investors are considering the impact of severe weather events, climate-related risks and socio-economic challenges, across the United States and around the world, as they make investment decisions. In response...more
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
As is widely known, the new issue market slowed down in 2022 due to a variety of factors, including rising interest rates, reduced institutional demand resulting from municipal bond fund outflows, inflation and recession...more
In December of 2022, Congress enacted the Financial Data Transparency Act (the “FDTA”), legislation intended to modernize and improve the organization, readability and availability of financial information collected by...more
The Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 (FDTA), enacted by Congress as Title LVIII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, was signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2022. The FDTA is...more
The Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 (the “Act”), which was included as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, was signed into law on December 23, 2022. The Act requires that various federal regulatory...more
The Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 (Act) will change the way issuers and obligors of municipal securities report required disclosure information on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s Electronic Municipal...more
In an unprecedented move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently filed litigation against one underwriter of municipal securities and announced settlements with three others. The litigation and...more
The Public Finance Abuse Unit of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) had a busy first half of 2022, bringing forth four enforcement cases alleging substantial violations of federal securities laws. Unlike...more
One of the primary purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is to ensure that the investing public obtains accurate, timely and comprehensive information with respect to publicly-traded securities. The...more
In March 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released proposed rules that would require public companies to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic...more
Illinois AG Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 23 state AGs in calling upon the CFPB to prohibit mortgage servicers from imposing convenience fees on consumers, in response to the CFPB’s recent Request for Information Regarding...more
Commercial banks and other financial institutions (“lender” or “lenders”) have historically provided financing to both governmental entities and nonprofits on a tax-exempt basis through loans and direct purchases of municipal...more
Over the last couple of decades, the securities self-regulatory organization FINRA (f/k/a NASD) informs its membership each year of what compliance risks are noted by its examination program. Those are risks firms should...more
The municipal securities market carried its momentum from the first half of 2021 into a strong finish for the year against the backdrop of continued regulatory and enforcement actions. Despite new variants of COVID-19...more
The focus on quantifying LIBOR exposure and related disclosure requirements may be a ‘red herring.’ The real issues are (i) whether the LIBOR transition is merely an excuse to change the effective interest rates of financial...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examination (Division) announced its 2021 examination priorities (the Report) on March 3, 2021. The Division’s examination priorities reflect areas that present...more
To increase access to liquidity for smaller municipal issuers facing unprecedented budget shortfalls and loss of revenues as a result of the COVID-19 virus, on June 16, 2020 the SEC issued an Order granting a limited and...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 16, 2020, granted a temporary conditional exemption (Temporary Order) from broker registration under Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). ...more
This webinar will discuss the Municipal Liquidity Facility (the “MLF”), the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program for state and local governments experiencing cash-flow and other financial pressures due to the COVID-19...more
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the New York Fed) has announced an expansion of its $500 billion Municipal Liquidity Facility to allow participation by designated cities and counties that do not meet the population...more