MSRB Asks SEC to Approve EMMA Changes
Bond Buyer (04/15/09) Vol. 368, No. 33098, P. 1; Ackerman, Andrew
Municipal bond issuers may soon be able to voluntarily file non-required financial or operating information and event-based disclosures if the Securities and Exchange Commission approves a request from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). If approved, the filings could begin on July 1, when MSRB becomes the sole nationally recognized municipal securities information repository. Companies would be able to file information such as rating agency presentations, communications from the Internal Revenue Service, budgets, litigation actions, financing plans, and consultant reports, which MSRB general counsel Ernesto Lanza says will give investors a much more robust source of information. The list of new voluntary disclosures was culled from issuers’ investor relations Web sites, the Government Finance Officers Association’s recommended practices, and recommendations from the National Federation of Municipal Analysts.
