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

MSRB PROVIDES EDUCATION FOR ISSUERS ON DISCLOSURE OF BOND BALLOT CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) has prepared a new educational resource to assist state and local governments in understanding the information that will be made public regarding municipal securities dealers’ contributions to bond ballot campaigns and any resulting municipal securities underwriting business. The MSRB began requiring additional disclosures in July 2013 to promote greater transparency surrounding dealers’ involvement in bond ballot campaigns, which secure voter approval for taxpayer-funded public projects.

The MSRB requires municipal securities dealers to disclose information on their political contributions on a quarterly basis. Disclosures for July through September 2013 are now available on the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website.

“As part of its mission to promote market transparency, the MSRB is evaluating the perceived link between dealers’ financial contributions and the awarding of municipal securities underwriting business,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly. “If the additional disclosures demonstrate a pattern between giving to bond ballot campaigns and getting underwriting business, the MSRB will consider further action to address the appearance of pay-to-play.”

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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