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
7/26/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
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
8/1/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
SASB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation
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
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
Summary -
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced enforcement proceedings against four municipal market underwriters for alleged violations of municipal bond disclosure requirements. Three of the...more
Summary -
The Security and Exchange Commission last month released a Risk Alert to notify municipal advisors of key compliance issues. The SEC’s Division of Examinations adds client disclosure concerns to the list of most...more
Summary -
Hoping that faster construction methods can be combined with increased subsidies to undertake billions of dollars of desperately needed affordable housing renovations, New York’s Legislature has authorized the...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 municipal securities market started the first half of 2021 strong against the backdrop of regulatory and enforcement actions, all while the remnants of COVID-19 continued to impact travel, commerce, and the economy....more
Summary -
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) announced the launch of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program, which will provide $350 billion in emergency funds to eligible...more
Summary -
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has settled charges against an underwriter, its owner, and chief compliance officer for violations of MSRB Rules G-21 on misleading advertising...more
Summary -
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced earlier this month it settled charges against a corporate issuer of registered securities for misleading disclosures about the impact of the COVID-19...more
Summary -
FINRA settled with a placement agent for failing to perform due diligence and supervise an employee in connection with the placement of securities by the placement agent in a Regulation D offering....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
The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Director of the Office of Municipal Securities issued a public statement on May 4, 2020 (the Statement) with observations and requests regarding COVID-19...more
Beginning February 27, 2019, municipal market issuers and obligated persons must add the following two new events—relating to their indebtedness and financial health—to the list of reportable events in their continuing...more
On March 17, 2016, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register to announce that as part of the process to renew the use of the form documents used under both the 1st and 2nd Component of its Rental Assistance Demonstration...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
10/5/2015
/ Borrowers ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
EMMA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
MCDC ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Self-Reporting ,
Underwriting
In response to concerns raised by industry participants, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made some modifications to its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (MCDC Initiative). The SEC...more
8/1/2014
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
MCDC ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Policy Violations ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Self-Reporting ,
Trade Associations ,
Underwriting
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) recently released a revised draft of Rule G-42 (Draft Rule G-42) following receipt of more than 40 comments on its Initial Draft Rule in January 2014. Rule G-42 regulates...more
If you have ever issued (or borrowed the proceeds of) bonds then you should know about the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Compliance Initiative (the “Initiative”) and take the appropriate steps to determine your...more
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first cease and desist order under its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (MCDC Initiative). The MCDC Initiative was introduced on...more
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) recently filed a rule change to adopt MSRB Rule A-11 (Rule). The new Rule calls for a $300 fee to be assessed annually against each municipal advisor professional who is...more
Multiple news outlets have reported that the U.S. Treasury Department has created an Office of State and Local Finance tasked with monitoring the distressed local government sector of the municipal finance market. Kent...more
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Enforcement Division introduced an initiative to encourage self-reporting by municipal securities issuers and underwriters of possible securities law violations...more