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Contact: Jennifer A. Galloway, Chief Communications Officer 
            (703) 797-6600
             jgalloway@msrb.org

MSRB TO CONSOLIDATE FAIR-PRICING RULES FOR MUNICIPAL SECURITIES DEALERS  

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to consolidate municipal securities dealers’ existing fair-pricing obligations into a single rule, facilitating dealer compliance with a fundamental investor protection regulation. This action is part of a larger, multi-year initiative that the MSRB has underway to review and streamline its Rule Book.

“The MSRB continues to focus on opportunities to further improve our Rule Book to better highlight key principles and support regulatory efficiency and compliance,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly. “Consolidating all fair-pricing rules and interpretations into a single rule is an important step forward in this effort.”

Fair-pricing requirements for dealers with respect to customer transactions currently are contained in three separate MSRB rules, Rule G-30 on prices and commissions, Rule G-18 on execution of transactions, and Rule G-17 on fair dealing, and in various interpretive guidance under Rules G-30 and G-17. 

The new, single fair-pricing rule, which requires dealers that transact municipal securities with or on behalf of customers to use a “fair and reasonable” standard for the pricing of the security and for any related commission or service charge, does not make any substantive change to existing dealer pricing obligations. Effective July 7, 2014, all pricing-related obligations will be contained in revised MSRB Rule G-30.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) protects and strengthens the municipal bond market, enabling access to capital, economic growth, and societal progress in tens of thousands of communities across the country. The MSRB fulfills this mission by creating trust in our market through informed regulation of dealers and municipal advisors that protects investors, issuers and the public interest; building technology systems that power our market and provide transparency for issuers, institutions, and the investing public; and serving as the steward of market data that empowers better decisions and fuels innovation for the future. The MSRB is a self-regulatory organization governed by a board of directors that has a majority of public members, in addition to representatives of regulated entities. The MSRB is overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress.

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