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

MSRB REQUESTS COMMENT ON PROPOSAL TO CONSOLIDATE GUIDANCE FOR DEALERS
ON OBLIGATIONS TO EXPERIENCED INVESTORS  

Alexandria, VA  – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is seeking comment on a proposal to consolidate guidance for municipal securities dealers who deal with experienced investors called sophisticated municipal market professionals (SMMPs).

Currently, the definition and dealer standards applicable to SMMPs are incorporated in interpretive guidance to MSRB Rule G-17 on fair dealing. The MSRB is proposing to establish a stand-alone definition for SMMPs and a single, comprehensive rule addressing dealers’ obligations to SMMPs.

“Consolidating the MSRB’s SMMP-related guidance into two stand-alone rules is another step in the MSRB’s effort to streamline the many interpretations attached to Rule G-17,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly. “We aim to help dealers more easily identify and comply with their obligations to all customers, including the more sophisticated professionals in the market.”

In connection with the MSRB’s review of Rule G-17’s interpretive guidance, the MSRB has also proposed stand-alone rules on time of trade disclosure and suitability. The outcome of these efforts will be a comprehensive package of rules that clarifies Rule G-17 obligations and that is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later this year.

Comments on the proposed SMMP rules should be submitted no later than June 12, 2013.

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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