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The MSRB recently announced that is is accepting
applications for its Board of Directors, which helps craft policies on the regulation of financial
professionals, market structure, the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access
(EMMA®) website and other topics. The MSRB Board consists of 11 independent
members that are representative of the public, including investors, municipal
entities and other non-MSRB regulated individuals. The Board also has 10
members that represent MSRB-regulated entities, including broker dealers, bank
dealers and municipal advisors.
Given the MSRB’s current rulemaking and transparency
objectives, the MSRB is encouraging individuals with strong knowledge of the
pricing and trading of municipal securities, including those with institutional
“buy-side” experience, to apply. The MSRB will fill four public and three regulated-entity
Board positions for three-year terms that begin October 1, 2015. All qualified individuals
from around the country representing diverse organizations and market
perspectives should consider applying. MSRB
Rule A-3, available on the MSRB’s website, msrb.org, outlines requirements
for all applicants.
To be considered for a position on the MSRB Board of
Directors, submit an application by February 20, 2015. Applications are available on the MSRB
Board of Directors Application Portal.
In 2015, the MSRB
marks its 40th anniversary as the regulator responsible for protecting investors and the public interest by ensuring a fair
and efficient municipal securities market. The MSRB was created by Congress in 1975 and it has fulfilled its mission by regulating municipals securities firms and their professionals, operating market transparency systems and providing education and outreach to the municipal market. Among the MSRB's key accomplishments since 1975 are:
- Developing regulatory standards of uniform practice, fair practice and transparency for municipal securities dealers
- Creating MSRB Rule
G-37, the first-of-its kind regulation to curb pay-to-play practices in the financial markets
- Introducing daily trade reporting for trades between dealers and adding reporting of customer trades
- Transitioning in 2005 to the collection
and dissemination of trade reports in real-time
- Creating the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website in 2009 to provide for the first time real-time trade data and a vast library of disclosure documents to the public for free
- Being granted an expanded mission in 2010 to protect municipal entities in addition to investors and the public interest by regulating municipal advisors
In its 40th
year, the MSRB is focused on creating a regulatory framework for municipal
advisors while continuing to explore opportunities to promote the public
interest by enhancing the fairness, efficiency and transparency of the
municipal securities market. Read a narrative about the MSRB's history here.
Disclosures of annual financial information and operating data
and audited financial statements (or CAFRs) from issuers of municipal
securities rose sharply in 2014, with nearly 68,000 total disclosures, compared to
approximately 55,000 in 2013. Over 10,000 of these disclosures were submitted
to the MSRB in December 2014, the most in a single month since the MSRB became
the official repository for continuing disclosures. The higher volume may be
attributed to underwriters and issuers participating in the Securities Exchange
Commission’s Municipal Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative. The
initiative was announced in March 2014 and provided issuers and underwriters
the opportunity to self-report previously unreported disclosure documents in an
effort to comply with continuing disclosure obligations specified in SEC Rule
15c2-12.
For data on municipal new issuance, trading activity, continuing
disclosures or variable rate resets, visit the MSRB’s
EMMA website.
Amendments to EMMA Continuing Disclosure Service to
Add Asset-Backed Securities Disclosures Under Securities Exchange Act Rule
15Ga-1 Effective January 9, 2015 January 6, 2015
MSRB Seeks Applicants for Board of Directors January 5, 2015 |
