The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced details of a program aimed at helping municipal market professionals better understand their compliance obligations.
The SEC said that registration has now opened for a virtual Compliance Outreach Program that will be held December 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. The event, conducted by the SEC, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), will be a free webcast open to the public.
The day will feature panel discussions that will include compliance concerns of small dealer and municipal advisor firms, credit rating agency compliance concerns including rules of the road for municipal market participants, unregistered municipal advisory and dealer activity, pricing compliance, and a forward look at regulatory and enforcement priorities. Staff of the SEC, MSRB and FINRA will share their insights on timely regulatory and compliance matters for municipal advisors and dealers.
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the final municipal advisor registration rule and the 13th year since the passage of Dodd-Frank, and I think it is a great opportunity for the SEC, MSRB, and FINRA to expand the compliance conference to all municipal market participants,” said Dave Sanchez, Director of the SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities. “The conference allows the SEC, MSRB, and FINRA a chance to speak jointly to the municipal market on where the examination, enforcement, and regulatory framework currently stands and where we see it going in the future. It will be a great program, and I am really looking forward to the new expanded scope.”
MSRB Chief Regulatory and Policy Officer Ernesto Lanza stressed the importance of open dialogue among regulators and market professionals to bring about shared understanding of industry rules.
“We are pleased to coordinate with the SEC and FINRA to create this opportunity for municipal advisors and dealers to hear directly from regulators about matters top of mind,” said Lanza. “Importantly, our program this year devotes time to the unique compliance concerns of small firms, which is a priority for the MSRB following a series of discussions the MSRB and FINRA held with minority-and-women owned and veteran-owned firms in the municipal market.”
The program is free and open to all. The SEC provided a link for registration, which is being administered by FINRA. For those who cannot attend the live virtual program, the recording will be archived on the SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities’ webpage for later viewing.
The attorneys at Lewitas Hyman include former senior attorneys at the SEC whose legal experience and industry knowledge make them uniquely qualified to provide counsel on securities regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters. Our attorneys fully understand the regulatory scrutiny financial professionals and their firms face from the various regulators that oversee the financial services industry. If your firm is facing an investigation from a regulatory agency, please contact Lewitas Hyman at (888) 655-6002 or through our online contact form.
