SEC Chairman Jay Clayton along with the Office of Municipal Securities Director Rebecca Olsen have released a public statement regarding the effects of COVID-19 on municipal disclosure. The statement can be viewed here. In the statement, which follows an April 8th statement on corporate disclosure, the Commission acknowledges how the pandemic has raised uncertainties regarding…
Category: Muni Market Advocacy
Advocacy during the Covid-19 crisis
BDA Leading Broker-Dealer Advocacy COVID-19 Emergency Response: From Congress to the Fed and Treasury
Following the initial outbreak of COVID-19 and the ensuing economic turmoil that immediately followed, the BDA has led the broker-dealer response from advocating for muni relief in multiple stimulus packages, to helping shape the muni and corporate liquidity facilities currently being developed at the Federal Reserve. Below is an Outline of Actions Taken by the…
Fed Expected to Begin Purchases in Primary and Secondary Corporate Credit Facility
Today, the New York Fed announced that the Primary and Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facilities will begin making purchases soon, starting with ETF’s. The Fed expects to operationalize the Secondary Facility first, followed “shortly after” by the Primary Market Facility. The BDA recently wrote in favor of the Feds Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility. The…
The Washington Weekly: Bankruptcy or Direct Support?
Legislative Recap: Political furor has struck the US Senate as state and local governments begin to feel the negative effects of the COVID-19 shutdown. In the past week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicted that further stimulus may not be needed, and that states should rely on bankruptcy instead of federal bailout. His…
House to Feature PABs and BABs in State and Local Stimulus Package
House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) today announced on a call with a group of Mayors that the House is putting together legislation to aide state and local governments struggling with lost revenues due to the ongoing COVID – 19 pandemic. On top of the expected direct funding, the package will include “tax-advantaged…
BDA Op-Ed: The Fed Took a Big Step Into the Municipal Market, But it Won’t be Enough
Today, the BondBuyer featured an op-ed by BDA’s Michael Decker on the Fed’s recent actions in the municipal market including the creation of the Municipal Liquidity Facility(MLF). The op-ed can be viewed here. In the piece, the Fed’s positive initial steps are discussed, while also potential problems caused by limiting access to the MLF to only…
MSRB Chief Market Structure Officer to Temporarily Support Federal Reserve on COVID-19 Response
Today, the MSRB announced that Chief Market Structure Officer John Bagley will temporarily join the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on secondment to lend his deep municipal market expertise to the implementation of the Municipal Liquidity Facility. The press release can be viewed here. MSRB staff in the Market Structure and Data Management and…
Fed Outlines Disclosure Plan for Lending Programs
Plan Follows BDA Recommendations for Transparency The Federal Reserve announced plans to disclose monthly the borrowers, loan amounts and interest rates on funding from new lending programs established this month following passage of the CARES Act. The BDA in its April 14 letter, “urged the Fed to publish a list of all trades conducted by your portfolio manager”…