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

MSRB SEEKS INPUT ON DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MUNICIPAL TRADE REPORTING SYSTEM

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) announced today it is seeking input from municipal securities market participants to guide the design of the next generation of electronic reporting and public dissemination of municipal securities trades.

As part of its information-gathering process, the MSRB is requesting market input on potential improvements to the timeliness, fairness and efficiency of price transparency in the municipal market, including shortening the current requirement for dealers to report trades within 15 minutes.

One of the core elements of the MSRB’s long-range plan for market transparency is the development of a central transparency platform that would enhance public access to real-time pricing information about municipal securities transactions. The current request for comment on the manner in which dealers would report trades is a first step in informing the MSRB about the design requirements of the central transparency platform.

The MSRB is requesting information on the current and likely future capabilities and limitations of the technology systems used by industry participants to report municipal securities trades to the MSRB’s existing Real-time Transaction Reporting System (RTRS). Comprehensive trade price information reported through RTRS is made available today to the public on the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website. The MSRB plans to replace RTRS with a new platform with capabilities to evolve over time to provide a comprehensive, interactive and real-time display of a suite of pricing-related market data. 

“The MSRB has made a long-term commitment to enhance municipal market transparency and we want to ensure that we take into account industry practices and technology in the development of the next generation trade reporting system,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly.

Comments should be submitted to the MSRB no later than March 15, 2013.

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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