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


MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD RECOMMENDS COMPREHENSIVE RULES FOR UNREGULATED  INTERMEDIARIES IN THE MUNICIPAL MARKET
Proposal Seeks to Promote Investor Confidence

Alexandria, VA - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today released its recommendations for bringing unregulated intermediaries in the municipal securities market under federal oversight. The MSRB also outlined its support for additional changes to the overall federal financial regulatory structure, including the creation of a municipal securities "czar".

The MSRB is recommending to Congress that it:

  • Subject financial advisors, investment brokers and other intermediaries in the municipal market to a comprehensive regulatory scheme that prohibits fraudulent and manipulative practices; requires fair treatment of investors, issuers and other market participants; ensures rigorous standards of professional qualifications; and promotes market efficiencies.
  • Create an overall regulatory framework for the financial markets that consists of a market stability regulator, a prudential financial regulator and a business conduct regulator.
  • Create a federal-level position charged with representing the unique needs of the municipal market or alternatively, create a senior-level, multi-agency group to coordinate municipal finance issues.
  • Create a more formal process for coordination among federal and state entities charged with enforcement of securities laws.
  • Subject derivative instruments based on municipal securities to the same comprehensive regulations being considered for the overall derivatives market.
  • Utilize market-funded, market-specific self-regulatory organizations to embody and expand on basic antifraud standards of federal securities laws.

To access the full letter, 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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