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

MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD FILES PROPOSAL WITH SEC
TO TRANSITION TO MAJORITY PUBLIC GOVERNING BOARD

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a proposal to amend its rule on the composition of its governing board to comply with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  

The financial reform law signed by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010 contains a provision that, for the first time, requires the MSRB to establish a board with a majority of public members. The new law also requires the MSRB's board to include at least one municipal advisor representative. Municipal advisors, who provide financial advice to municipal entities or solicit business from municipal entities on behalf of others, will be regulated by the MSRB beginning October 1, 2010. The MSRB’s proposal creates a transitional 21-member board, composed of 11 public members and 10 industry members, including seven broker-dealer and bank dealer members and three municipal advisor members.

“This is an historic change for the MSRB,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly Hotchkiss. “The proposal creates an MSRB governing board with a majority of independent public members and one that fairly represents all regulated entities.”

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) was established by Congress in 1975 with the mission to protect investors, issuers and the public interest and to promote efficiency, competition and capital formation. MSRB is a private, self-regulatory organization governed by an independent board of directors with market knowledge and expertise. MSRB does not receive federal appropriations and is funded primarily through fees paid by regulated entities. MSRB is overseen by Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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