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


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION APPROVES SHORTER
TIME PERIODS FOR SETTLEMENT OF MUNICIPAL BOND SYNDICATE ACCOUNTS
Approval Also Affects Secondary Market Trading Accounts, Payment of Designations

Alexandria, VA - The Securities and Exchange Commission this week approved a proposal from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) to shorten the time periods for settlement of syndicate accounts, secondary market trading accounts and the payment of designations.  The amendments are designed to reduce the exposure of members of syndicate and secondary market accounts to potential risks of deterioration in the credit of the syndicate or account manager while the account settlements are pending.

The SEC's decision reduces the deadline in MSRB Rule G-11(i) for the final settlement of an underwriting syndicate or similar account from 60 calendar days to 30 calendar days after the issuer delivers the securities to the syndicate.  The amendments also reduce the deadline in MSRB Rule G-11(j) for the payment of designations from 30 calendar days to 10 calendar days after bond closing and require co-managers to provide syndicate managers with their designations within two business days after bond closing.  

The SEC approval also reduces the deadline in MSRB Rule G-12(i) for settlement of secondary market trading accounts from 60 calendar days to 30 calendar days following the date the securities have been delivered to the account members.

"The MSRB identified a need to bring municipal securities syndicate and other settlement rules up-to-date with a proposal that will reduce risk and not create a burden on dealers, given the efficiencies in the market today," said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly Hotchkiss.  "The SEC's approval helps reduce exposure of dealers to potential credit risks in the market." 

The amendments to MSRB Rule G-11 are effective for new issues of municipal securities for which the "time of formal award" as defined in MSRB Rule G-34 occurs after October 28, 2009.  The amendments to MSRB Rule G-12 are effective for secondary market trading accounts formed after October 28, 2009.

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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