MSRB Update: Summer 2019

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board sent this bulletin at 08/26/2019 12:32 PM EDT

MSRB President and CEO Lynnette Kelly
to Retire after 12 Years of Service

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the market it oversees are quite different than they were 12 years ago. Lynnette Kelly, who joined the MSRB as Executive Director in 2007, has led the MSRB through a transformative decade marked by the launch of the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website, the development of a regulatory framework for municipal advisors and the creation of state-of-the art educational resources to equip investors and issuers to make informed decisions. With her retirement at the end of Fiscal Year 2019, Lynnette leaves the nearly $4 trillion municipal securities market more transparent, fair and efficient, and she has ensured the MSRB is positioned to carry on her commitment to protecting investors, issuers and the public interest.

A Message from Lynnette:

The MSRB thanks Lynnette for her unwavering commitment to the municipal securities market.

Highlights from the Board

On July 23–25, 2019, the MSRB Board of Directors convened for its final in-person meeting of Fiscal Year 2019. Key actions at the meeting included adopting the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, strengthening the role of EMMA in the continued evolution of market transparency and advancing the ongoing MSRB retrospective rule review.

Read the full summary of the meeting.

Also at its meeting, the MSRB Board elected Edward Sisk, Managing Director, Head of Public Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as Chair for FY 2020. Manju Ganeriwala, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia, will serve as Vice Chair. Five new Board members were also elected, and for the first time in the MSRB’s history, women make up the entirety of the incoming class and the majority of the full Board.

Meet the incoming officers and members of the MSRB Board of Directors.

Listen and Learn

The first season of the MSRB Podcast features eight episodes exploring municipal securities regulation, market data and emerging market topics. Each 12- to 30-minute episode deconstructs—for municipal bond market practitioners and others—a topic, drawing on the expertise of featured subject matter experts.

Available episodes include:

Find the MSRB Podcast on MSRB.org and all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. Stay tuned for Season Two!

Sign Up for Compliance Corner

Want additional regulatory updates and resources to help with your understanding of MSRB rules? Sign up for the MSRB’s Compliance Corner, our quarterly newsletter designed to deliver compliance obligation information to dealers and municipal advisors.

With recent changes to the MSRB advertising rules, continuing retrospective rule review and the pending launch of the new Series 54 examination, there’s no better time to stay in the loop on compliance considerations.

New Publications and Resources

Mark-up Disclosure and Trading in the Municipal Bond Market

Market structure experts at the MSRB share their analysis on the impact from MSRB mark-up regulations.

Read the analysis.

MSRB Quarterly Statistical Summary: Q2, 2019

MSRB quarterly statistical summaries include aggregate market information for the most recent quarter.

Read the report.

Explore EMMA® Enhancements for Issuers

This document provides a tour of key enhancements to
EMMA Dataport, the user interface for submissions of continuing disclosures.

Read the resource.

New Compliance Resources

MSRB Rule G-20 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Understanding MSRB Rules Regarding Gifts, Gratuities and Non-Cash Compensation

This resource highlights key rule provisions and provides answers to FAQs, related scenarios and sample supervisory considerations to enhance understanding of Rule G-20. This resource adds to and supersedes FAQs on MSRB Rules Regarding Gifts, Gratuities and Non-Cash Compensation, originally published in December 2016.

Read the FAQs.

Assessing Supervision of Municipal Advisor Advertising Regulations

This compliance resource provides a tool for municipal advisors to assist in evaluating their supervisory controls in the implementation of MSRB Rule G-40, on advertising by municipal advisors.

Read the resource.

Rules and Guidance Roundup

Visit the Rules and Guidance page of msrb.org to stay up-to-date with the latest requests for comment, proposed rule changes, rule approval notices and market advisories.

Compliance Resources

Visit the online Compliance Center for resources and information to help regulated entities understand and comply with MSRB rules.

Recent Press Releases

Read the MSRB’s latest press releases on msrb.org.

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