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

MSRB RECEIVES SEC APPROVAL ON REVISED DEFINITION
OF SOPHISTICATED MUNICIPAL MARKET PROFESSIONAL 

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) last week received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to redefine those institutional investors capable of independently evaluating investment risks and market value of municipal securities, and exercising independent judgment in evaluating recommendations of a municipal securities dealer. The revised definition is effective July 9, 2012.

The revised definition of so-called “sophisticated municipal market professional” (SMMP) exempts dealers from requirements to make certain disclosures to institutional customers that they must make to other investors, and certain pricing and suitability obligations of dealers to those customers are deemed satisfied. The new definition vastly simplifies the analysis required by dealers when determining whether their customers qualify as SMMPs. The change will also provide consistency with a new Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rule on suitability for institutional customers.  

Since the MSRB issued its original definition of SMMP in 2002, information available about municipal bonds has increased substantially, including information provided through the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website and other information vendors. These sources have made the material facts about municipal bonds more readily available.

Under the revised definition, SMMP is defined as an institutional customer of a dealer that: (1) the dealer has a reasonable basis to believe is capable of evaluating investment risks and market value independently, both in general and with regard to particular transactions in municipal securities, and (2) affirmatively indicates that it is exercising independent judgment in evaluating the recommendations of the dealer. The revised definition also permits natural persons with at least $50 million of assets to be considered institutional customers and eliminates the previous $100 million minimum investment in municipal securities required to qualify as an institutional customer.

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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