Municipal Bond News : SEC Offers Small Entity Compliance Guide, MSRB Puts Out Video on Issuance Process, CFTC Offers SEF Regulatory Guidance, & Lawmakers Consider SIPC Reforms

SEC Issues Small Entity Compliance Guide
The Securities and Exchange Commission has put out a small entity compliance guide that explains the new forms and rules involved with the municipal advisers registration regime. Issued in September, the rules and forms implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s Section 975, which mandates that municipal advisers register with the regulator.

Permanent registration dates start the first of next year through October 31, 2014. If an adviser joins up after this time, it will have to apply to register under the permanent regime before engaging in any activities.

Municipal advisers are persons that give advice to or on behalf of an obligated person or municipal entity regarding financial securities’ issuance and municipal financial products or who take on soliciting an obligated person or a municipal entity. Engineers, commodity trading advisers, accountants, registered swap dealers, registered investment advisers, and others that take part in certain activities are left out of this definition, as are natural person municipal advisers that are associated persons of an SEC-registered municipal adviser and engage in activities just for that adviser.

MSRB on Municipal Bond Issuance Process, CFTC on Swap Execution Facilities
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board put out a video about local and state governments and investors and how municipal bonds are issued to pay for public projects. The video explains what municipal bonds are, the part they play in financing ventures, who is involved, and the role the MSRB plays in the market. The issuance process clarifies the roles that underwriters and municipal advisers regulated by the MSRB play in assisting issuers to understand their roles.

Meantime, the CFTC Division of Market Oversight has put out guidance to swap execution facilities (SEF) and their registration applicants on regulations involving registration, consent to SEF jurisdiction, conditioning access on consent to use information or proprietary data, emergency actions, member guarantees, reporting obligations, approval procedures, and certification. The guidance was issued earlier this month.

House Financial Services Committee Consider SIPC Reforms
The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing on a bill meant to reform certain elements of the way the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) handles broker liquidations. The reforms can be found in the Restoring Main Street Investor Protection and Confidence Act.

According to Representatives Scott Garrett (R-N.J.),, who co-sponsored the bill, the legislation’s goal is to protect investors from abuse and fraud, as well as promote more confidence in U.S capital markets to help spur the economy, create jobs, and allocate capital in an efficient manner.

The bill would amend Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA)’s Section 16(11) so that it would mandate that net equity be fixed according to a customer’s final statement from a broker-dealer before the filing date in addition to written confirmations about the customer before that date but following the final statement. It also would allow the SEC to make the SIPC act to distribute money to protect the customers of SIPC members that fail. However, under the new bill, the SEC wouldn’t be able to lend money to the SIPC.

Our municipal bond fraud lawyers at The SSEK Partners Group represents institutional and individual investors with securities claims.

Securities Investor Protection Corporation

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board

Securities Investor Protection Act

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