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Notice 2004-36 - Informational Notice
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Notice 2004-37 - Informational Notice
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Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
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Automated Comparison and Transaction Reporting of Certain Inter-Dealer Transactions in When-Issued Municipal Securities: Rules G-12(f) and G-14
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Rule G-12

The MSRB has received reports of problems with automated comparison and transaction reporting of certain inter-dealer transactions involving syndicate managers.  These reports indicate that some dealers may have incorrectly identified some of their when, as and if issued ("when-issued") transactions in new issue municipal securities as "syndicate transactions."  The MSRB reminds dealers that erroneous coding of comparison reports is a violation of Rule G-14, on transaction reporting, and that transactions with dealers that are not members of the syndicate or selling group for a new issue, by definition, cannot be considered "syndicate transactions" for purposes of comparison procedures.

MSRB Rule G-12(f), on automated comparison of inter-dealer transactions, requires dealers to submit for automated comparison all transactions eligible for comparison under National Securities Clearing Corporation's (NSCC) rules and procedures.  For transactions by a syndicate manager with syndicate or selling group members, NSCC procedures call for the use of a special "syndicate" submission, which does not require a submission by the contra-side for comparison to occur.[1]  Transactions between syndicate managers and dealers that are not members of the syndicate or selling group are not "syndicate transactions" under NSCC's rules and procedures and both the selling and purchasing dealers are required to report its side to the transaction for automated comparison. 

Various problems arise in the comparison process if the parties to a trade do not follow the correct procedures for comparison of the trade.  Moreover, since the trade report submitted for comparison also serves as the transaction report to the MSRB, identifying a transaction as a "syndicate transaction" in trade reports, when such transaction is not a syndicate transaction under NSCC's rules and procedures, represents a violation of a dealer's obligation to accurately report transactions to the MSRB under Rule G-14.


[1]  See "Municipal Bond Selling Group Trades," NSCC Important Notice # 2971 dated April 8, 1988.

Notice 2004-29 - Informational Notice
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Notice 2004-24 - Informational Notice
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Notice 2004-24a - Informational Notice
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Notice 2004-20 - Informational Notice
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Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
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Certain Inter-Dealer Transfers of Municipal Securities: Rules G-12(f)and G-14
Rule Number:

Rule G-12, Rule G-14

The MSRB has received questions about whether certain transfers of municipal securities between dealers to move securities between safekeeping locations are required to be reported to the MSRB Transaction Reporting System under Rule G-14, on transaction reporting.  When a transfer of municipal securities does not represent a purchase-sale transaction and is not required to be recorded on a dealer's books and records under MSRB Rule G-8 or SEC Rule 17a-3, such transfers should not be reported under Rule G-14 and a transaction report must not be sent to the MSRB. 

One scenario that has been brought to the MSRB's attention is when a dealer ("Dealer A") that self-clears inter-dealer transactions contracts with another dealer ("Dealer B") for the safekeeping and maintenance of customer accounts.  As part of this process, Dealer A transfers securities sold to customers to Dealer B for safekeeping.  The transfer of securities from Dealer A to Dealer B in this example is not an inter-dealer purchase-sale transaction and must not be reported to the MSRB as such.  However, Dealer A and Dealer B may wish to utilize the comparison and netting facilities of a registered clearing agency to effect the delivery of securities.   

In March 2004, the MSRB published a notice addressing the processing of certain inter-dealer transfers of securities that do not represent inter-dealer purchase-sale transactions through the automated comparison facilities of National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC).[1]  Since data sent to NSCC for comparison of an inter-dealer purchase-sale transaction also is sent to the MSRB for transaction reporting purposes, the March 2004 notice described use of the "B" indicator for identifying such data submissions relating to transfers of securities so that they are not confused with transaction reports between dealers that represent trades made through the comparison system.  Dealers should refer to the March 2004 notice if they chose to use the facilities of NSCC for such transfers to ensure that erroneous inter-dealer transaction reports are not sent to the MSRB Transaction Reporting System.[2]


[1] See MSRB Notice 2004-9, "Notice on Deliveries of Step Out Transactions Through the Automated Comparison System," March 3, 2004, on www.msrb.org.

[2] Note, however, that a different procedure will be used to effect inter-dealer transfers of securities, using the NSCC comparison system, and without reporting the transfer to the MSRB as a transaction when MSRB's Real-Time Transaction Reporting System goes into operation, currently planned for January 2005.

Notice 2004-14 - Informational Notice
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Notice 2004-13 - Informational Notice
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