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Contacts:          Lynnette Kelly Hotchkiss, Executive Director
                        (703) 797-6600
                        lhotchkiss@msrb.org

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

 

THE MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD
ISSUES GUIDANCE ON ARS BUYBACKS

 

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today reminded dealers to report buybacks of municipal auction rate securities to the MSRB as they would ordinary auction-rate transactions.  The MSRB is also taking this opportunity to note that ARS buyback transactions will be transparent in public MSRB trade data available on the Electronic Municipal Market Access system, or EMMA. 

A number of securities dealers recently announced programs to buy back auction rate securities from customers, largely as a result of settlement agreements with state attorneys general.  However, the additional trade volume represented by ARS buybacks does not necessarily represent a recovery of the ARS market from the unprecedented number of failed ARS auctions this year. Consequently, this trade data may not reflect the market value of these securities.

To view the MSRB’s notice to dealers, click here.



 

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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