Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Seeks Comment on Pricing Proposal For Municipal Securities Transactions

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is requesting comment on draft interpretive guidance for municipal securities dealers on how they determine the fair market value of a municipal bond in investor transactions.  The MSRB is seeking to harmonize its rules for pricing municipal bonds with the approach used for corporate and other debt securities, and to clarify how dealers should apply this approach to the unique characteristics of the municipal securities market.

"The municipal market has nearly 1.3 million individual bonds that, for the most part, are traded infrequently," said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly Hotchkiss.  "It is important that firms have clear guidance on the fundamental principles of securities pricing that is consistent with similar regulations established by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and that takes into account trading patterns of municipal bonds."

MSRB rules require dealers to transact municipal securities with customers at a price that is fair and reasonable, taking into account all relevant factors. The rules also require that a customer's price "must be reasonably related to the market value of the municipal securities in the transaction and that the mark-up or mark-down on a transaction must not exceed a fair and reasonable amount." The prevailing market price of a municipal security forms the basis on which mark-ups and mark-downs are calculated in principal transactions, and compliance with MSRB rules requires both that the total transaction price to the customer be reasonably related to the market value of the security and that the mark-up or mark-down not exceed a fair and reasonable amount.

If adopted by the MSRB and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, today's draft guidance would create a structured approach to establishing the prevailing market price of a municipal security that, like the FINRA approach for other debt securities, relies on specific price comparisons. The draft guidance expands on the structured approach by providing further guidance on its application to municipal securities transactions and includes a series of specific examples tailored to the municipal market. Industry participants are encouraged to provide comments to the MSRB on whether the proposed pricing approach is appropriate.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) was established in 1975 by Congress to protect investors and the public interest by promoting a fair and efficient municipal securities market. To accomplish this mission, the MSRB regulates securities firms and banks that underwrite, trade and sell municipal securities, and collects and disseminates market information. The MSRB operates the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website to promote transparency and widespread access to information, provides education and conducts extensive outreach as part of its mission-driven activities. The MSRB is composed of members from the municipal securities dealer community and the public, and is a self-regulatory organization subject to oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)