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

MSRB SEEKS COMMENT ON RULE G-34 CUSIP
REQUIREMENT FOR MUNICIPAL ADVISORS

Washington, DC – In connection with its ongoing retrospective review of its rules and guidance, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is seeking comment on a provision of MSRB Rule G-34 that generally requires a municipal advisor advising an issuer with respect to a competitive sale of a new issue of municipal securities to apply for the assignment of a CUSIP number or numbers with respect to such issue within a specified time frame.

In early 2018, the MSRB extended an existing requirement for dealers acting as financial advisors to apply for CUSIP numbers in competitive offerings to all municipal advisors advising on such offerings.  However, based on the municipal securities market’s experience with the provision, and stakeholder input regarding the utility and the burden of this requirement in practice, the Board of Directors of the MSRB determined that a retrospective review of the operation of the CUSIP requirement was merited.

“Further examining the potential burdens of the CUSIP requirement is warranted based on market feedback,” said MSRB President and CEO Lynnette Kelly. “We are interested in formal public input whether or not the CUSIP requirement for dealer and non-dealer municipal advisors is beneficial to the market.”

The MSRB began a formal retrospective rule review in 2012 to help ensure MSRB rules and interpretive guidance are effective in their principal goal of protecting investors, issuers and the public interest. The retrospective review also seeks to ensure that MSRB rules are not overly burdensome, are clear and harmonized with the rules of other regulators, as appropriate, and are reflective of current market practices. In October 2018, the Board identified the continuation of its ongoing retrospective rule review as a strategic priority for its current fiscal year and subsequently developed criteria to help identify priority rules or rule areas for review. 

Read more about the MSRB’s retrospective rule review.

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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