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

MSRB ENGAGES MARKET PARTICIPANTS TO IMPROVE THE EMMA WEBSITE AND
BETTER UNDERSTAND INFORMATION NEEDS

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today launched an online survey of users of its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website to gain a better understanding of how EMMA is viewed in the marketplace and the extent to which users rely on EMMA for market information. The MSRB invites anyone with an interest in municipal market information to participate in the survey through January 8, 2014.

The survey is part of the MSRB’s ongoing effort to improve the usability of the EMMA website. The MSRB has engaged EMMA users and potential users to participate in focus groups and share their feedback on potential improvements. The MSRB is also expanding its user engagement through the formation of the EMMA Development Advisory Group, made up of volunteers representing various municipal market stakeholders. The group will advise the MSRB on the evolution of EMMA as described in the 2012 Long-Range Plan for Market Transparency Products. The advisory group held its first meeting today. Participants include:

  • Daniel Bergstresser , Associate Professor of Finance, Brandeis International Business School
  • Jonathan Biango, Associate, Lamont Financial Services Corporation
  • Todd Frazier, Managing Director, PFM Group
  • Dan Kiley, Director - Municipal Fixed Income Trading, Wells Fargo Advisors
  • Mark Kim, Chief Financial Officer, District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
  • Christopher Martin, Portfolio Manager – Municipal Investments, Loews Corporation
  • John McNally, Partner, Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP
  • Thalia Meehan, Team Leader Tax Exempt Group, Putnam Investments
  • Ray Petty, Senior Attorney, Florida Division of Bond Finance
  • Donna Simonetti, Executive Director, Compliance Director, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
  • Judy Wesalo Temel, Principal / Director of Credit Research, Samson Capital Advisors


“The MSRB greatly appreciates the willingness of this group of municipal market professionals and others to share their time and input to inform the ongoing development of EMMA,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly.

The MSRB is currently working to implement changes to the EMMA homepage and navigation based on feedback from EMMA users. The enhanced homepage, which will be released in 2014, implements suggestions from users to make it easier to identify the kinds of information EMMA offers and how to find it.

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. 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. 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. MSRB is overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress.

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