Back to top
Date:

Contact: Jennifer A. Galloway, Chief Communications Officer
             202-838-1500
             jgalloway@msrb.org

MSRB SEEKS ADDITIONAL COMMENT ON REQUIREMENTS FOR OBTAINING CUSIP NUMBERS

Washington, DC - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is seeking additional public comment on draft amendments to MSRB Rule G-34, on obtaining CUSIP numbers. Consistent with its previous proposal, the MSRB’s revised draft amendments clarify the obligations of municipal securities dealers to obtain CUSIP numbers for new issue securities sold in private placement transactions, including direct purchases, and require all municipal advisors to obtain CUSIP numbers in competitive offerings. However, the MSRB is now requesting input on possible exceptions from each of these requirements in certain limited circumstances. 

"In light of feedback from municipal market participants, the MSRB has modified its draft amendments to include a principles-based exception from the proposed requirements," said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly. "The MSRB appreciates the thoughtful participation of commenters in the rulemaking process and invites further dialogue on how to ensure CUSIP number requirements appropriately reduce investor risk and regulatory uncertainty."

The draft amendments would provide an exception to the requirements of Rule G-34 for municipal securities purchased directly by a bank where the underwriter on the transaction or the municipal advisor advising an issuer in a competitive offering reasonably believes that the bank is likely to hold the municipal securities to maturity or limit resale of the municipal securities to another bank. Dealers and municipal advisors relying on the exception would be expected to have in place policies and procedures reasonably designed to assist in their determinations.

Comments on the revised draft amendments should be submitted no later than June 30, 2017. Read the request for comment. 

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.

Print