Among the concerns MBFA identifies is a fundamental alteration of the function of what has been a healthy and efficient tax exempt municipal bond market. Of more immediate concern is the market reaction occurring as a result of the reconsideration of the 28% cap contained originally in President’s FY 2012 budget proposal. The threat of…
Author: Bond Dealers of America
Hensarling Picked to Head House Financial Services Committee
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Republican from Texas, was named as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee when Congress convenes in January 2013. Hensarling, a conservative, known for his skepticism of big banks and the government’s role in mortgage finance, will succeed the current chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.).…
Schwab Teams with Piper Jaffray to Expand Investor Access to New Issue Muni Bonds
Piper Jaffray announces that effective today they have signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Charles Schwab for their new issue municipal and secondary taxable and tax-exempt fixed income products. According to Piper Jaffray, this agreement will enhance the ability to serve their municipal issuing clients across the country and will also allow Piper the ability…
BDA Submits Comment Letter on TRACE Dissemination Issues
The BDA submitted a comment letter to FINRA in response to its request for comment on TRACE dissemination issues, Regulatory Notice 12-39. In the letter, the BDA said that raising dissemination caps provided very little additional protections to the retail investor but might, in fact, harm institutional investors. View the full letter [here.]
BDA Submits Comment Letter on MSRB Revised Draft Rule Amendments and a Revised Draft Interpretive Notice on Retail Order Periods
The BDA filed a comment letter in response to the MSRB’s revised draft rule amendments and a revised draft interpretive notice on Retail Order Periods. In the letter, the BDA reiterated its support for the revised Notice, but remains concerned that as written, it will impose a costly, unreasonable and unnecessary burden on Dealers, stating “[t]here…
In the News: Bond Market Watchdog Seeks SEC Approval for Stricter Disclosure of Bond Referendum Campaigns
According to a recent article in the Washington Post, the “MSRB says it needs more information to determine whether there needs to be a ban on engaging in business resulting from such [campaign] contributions. That’s why it will soon ask the SEC to approve a rule that requires more details from firms, such as the…
BDA In The News: Ex-Congressional Tax Counsels Spar Over JCT Tax-Reform Experiment
According to an article in the Bond Buyer, former congressional tax counsels John Buckley and Jon Traub on Tuesday sparred over the recent experiment by the Joint Committee on Taxation to see how much marginal tax rates could be reduced if certain major tax expenditures, including tax exemption, were eliminated. The large tax expenditures eliminated…
BDA Leads Effort to Create Coalition To Fight Threats to Munis
Bond Dealers of America’s chief executive officer Michael Nicholas talked last week with the Bond Buyer about the group’s efforts to form a coalition of market participants to head off threats to tax exemption for the muni bond market. See the video [here.]
Joint Committee on Taxation Memo Includes Repeal of Tax Exemption on Muni Bonds in Analysis
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has prepared a memorandum for all members of the Senate Finance Committee [available here]. The memorandum analyzes the revenue effects and tradeoffs from: Repeal of the alternative minimum tax, Repeal of the overall limitation on itemized deductions for certain taxpayers, Repealing all itemized deductions; Taxing capital gains and dividends…
In The News: Non-Dealer MAs Claim Some Dealers Acting as MAs and Underwriters
According to today’s Bond Buyer article, Larry Kidwell, president of Brentwood, Tenn.-based MA firm Kidwell & Co., and a board member of the National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors, said, “We continue to see instances where banks and broker dealers seem to disregard G-23 and G-17 [on fair dealing] by seeking to serve in multiple transaction…