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


MSRB Publishes Notice Clarifying the Application of MSRB Rules to
 Transactions in Auction Rate Securities
 
Alexandria, VA − Today, the MSBB published a notice reminding brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers (“dealers”) of the MSRB disclosure and suitability requirements that apply to all customer transactions in municipal Auction Rate Securities whether in primary offerings, at subsequent auctions, or in non-auction transactions.  The notice is attached and will soon be available after 3:00 P.M. on the MSRB’s web site at www.msrb.org.
 
The MSRB continues to monitor the recent downgrades of municipal bond insurers and other short-term liquidity concerns that have created extreme volatility in the market for municipal Auction Rate Securities.  To improve the amount of information available to municipal market participants about municipal Auction Rate Securities, the MSRB is considering a centralized system for the collection and dissemination of critical market information about Auction Rate Securities.  Plans for this system will be proposed in the coming weeks.

The MSRB publishes Statistical Patterns in the Municipal Securities Market monthly on its web site based upon information reported to the MSRB Transaction Reporting Program.  These statistics illustrate the growing market in municipal securities with long-term maturity dates and short-term (nine months or under) interest rate reset periods, of which municipal Auction Rate Securities are a large component.  The number of transactions in this sector has increased from approximately 32,000 transactions per month in 2000, or about 6% of all transactions, to approximately 190,000 transactions per month in 2007, or about 25% of all transactions.

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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