MSRB Celebrates 50th Anniversary
MSRB recently celebrated 50 years of serving its congressional mandate by bringing the municipal securities industry together for an evening that recognized the power of municipal bonds in strengthening our nation’s communities. Alongside current and former Board members, fellow regulators and industry leaders, MSRB welcomed remarks from SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN).
During his remarks, Chairman Atkins observed, "Bond by bond, project by project, the muni market has helped to build the spaces and places where American life unfolds." Rep. Yakym attributed the availability of municipal finance to getting many critical projects completed and Rep. Sewell commended MSRB’s work over the last five decades in ensuring equity and fair competition in the municipal bond market.
During the event, MSRB presented a new video highlighting the critical role municipal bonds serve in building stronger communities with remarks from Board Chair Natasha A. Holiday, Board Vice Chair Wendell Gaertner, CEO Mark Kim and Chief External Relations Officer Aleis Stokes. View the video on our 50th Anniversary webpage.
The evening was a reminder of the municipal market’s enduring value. MSRB thanks its stakeholders for helping to acknowledge this milestone anniversary and the importance of MSRB’s vision to give America the confidence to invest in its communities.
First photo: MSRB CEO Mark Kim, MSRB Chair Natasha A. Holiday, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins and MSRB Chief External Relations Officer Aleis Stokes. Second photo: Current and former MSRB Board members.
News from MSRB’s First Quarterly Board Meeting of FY 2026
MSRB’s Board held its first quarterly meeting of fiscal year 2026 in late October, where it reviewed certain retrospective rule review and rule modernization initiatives and discussed the modernization of the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website, among other topics.
Specifically, the Board:
- Discussed the approach to further phases of the dealer supervision retrospective rule review of Rule G-27 beyond the upcoming Request for Comment approved at the last Board meeting.
- Approved the filing of an amendment with the SEC to harmonize MSRB requirements under Rule G-28 for dealer personnel engaging in municipal securities activities away from their own firm with FINRA’s similar rule.
Discussed progress on addressing underwriter feedback on the submission process for primary offering data and documents under Rule G-32 through Form G-32.
MSRB Multi-Year Rate Card Filed with SEC
In September, MSRB filed its rate card for dealers and municipal advisors with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new Multi-Year Rate Card replaces MSRB’s Annual Rate Card Model and provides the industry with greater certainty and stability with respect to fees. As part of this change, MSRB plans to return to the industry over $23 million in surplus reserves—generated by extraordinary market activity over the past two years—via temporary fee credits through 2027.
MSRB Publishes FY 2026 Budget
MSRB published its annual budget on October 1 to report on the allocation of resources needed to fulfill its congressional mandate. The FY2026 budget is 5.2% lower than the previous year’s and reflects a leaner organization following a rightsizing of MSRB’s workforce earlier in the year. The FY 2026 budget fully supports MSRB’s operations, including technology, data security and system reliability, while demonstrating MSRB’s commitment to sound fiscal stewardship.
Recent MSRB Research
MSRB publishes research, data and educational materials to assist market participants, policymakers and the public in developing a deeper understanding of the municipal securities market. Recent research publications include:
- Liquidity Impact of Municipal Bond ETFs on Municipal Securities Market: An Updated Analysis
- Third Quarter 2025 Municipal Securities Market Summary
- Major Trends in the Municipal Securities Primary Market
More Information from MSRB
- Visit the MSRB.org Regulation and Compliance page to stay up-to-date with the latest requests for comment, proposed rule changes, rule approval notices and market advisories.
- MSRB’s Compliance Resources provide information to help regulated entities understand and comply with MSRB rules.
- See more news about how MSRB is protecting investors, issuers and the public interest on our press releases page.
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