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Contact: Jennifer A. Galloway, Chief Communications Officer
              (703) 797-6600
              jgalloway@msrb.org 

HAL JOHNSON, MSRB DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TO LEAVE AFTER 26 YEARS

Alexandria , VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) announced today that Harold L. (Hal) Johnson, Deputy Executive Director, is leaving the MSRB after 26 years of service with the organization.

Johnson, who before serving as Deputy Executive Director, served for 18 years as Deputy General Counsel, is known for leading MSRB efforts to implement real-time price transparency in the municipal securities market. 

“Untold numbers of municipal securities investors have benefitted as a result of Hal’s contributions to market transparency,” said Michael G. Bartolotta, Chair of the MSRB Board of Directors. “Making real-time municipal bond prices available once was a far-fetched idea. But in large part thanks to Hal, today real-time price transparency defines the municipal market.”

During his tenure at the MSRB, Johnson also worked extensively with industry members on efforts to modernize operational practices, including the transition from bearer bonds to book-entry settlement and the movement to the T+3 settlement cycle. In addition, he provided key contributions in shaping MSRB regulations relating to dealer disclosure and fair pricing practices and helped to establish MSRB’s original “MSIL” system for collection and dissemination of disclosure documents.

“Hal has provided sage counsel to the MSRB over many years and helped to establish many of the operational rules used in our industry,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly Hotchkiss. “We are extremely grateful for his many contributions over the years.” 

Johnson noted: “I’ve been fortunate to have been associated for 26 years with a terrific organization and a great industry. It has been a privilege to work with and learn from the many market leaders who have served on the Board and the dedicated professionals who have been my colleagues on the MSRB’s staff. I will miss the people and the work.”  

Johnson indicated his immediate plans to take time off to hone his fishing skills, after which he may pursue other opportunities such as consulting work, including acting as an ongoing resource to the MSRB.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) protects and strengthens the municipal bond market, enabling access to capital, economic growth, and societal progress in tens of thousands of communities across the country. The MSRB fulfills this mission by creating trust in our market through informed regulation of dealers and municipal advisors that protects investors, issuers and the public interest; building technology systems that power our market and provide transparency for issuers, institutions, and the investing public; and serving as the steward of market data that empowers better decisions and fuels innovation for the future. The MSRB is a self-regulatory organization governed by a board of directors that has a majority of public members, in addition to representatives of regulated entities. The MSRB is overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress.

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