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Rule
Summary

Establishes professional qualification and continuing education requirements for, and specifies the number of supervisory personnel who must be associated with, dealers and municipal advisors.

Notice
SEC Approves Amended MSRB Rule G-3 Creating an Exemption for Municipal Advisor Representatives from Requalification by Examination and Related Amendments to MSRB Rule G-8
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SEC Filing
Proposed Rule Change to Amend MSRB Rule G-3 to Create an Exemption for Municipal Advisor Representatives from Requalification by Examination and Remove Waiver Provisions and to Amend MSRB Rule G-8 to Establish Related Books and Records Requirements [Refiled to make technical changes, original filed on July 17, 2023]
View SEC Filing

No broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor or person who is a municipal securities representative, municipal securities sales limited representative, limited representative - investment company and variable contracts products, municipal securities principal, municipal fund securities limited principal, municipal securities sales principal, municipal advisor representative or municipal advisor principal (as hereafter defined) shall be qualified for purposes of Rule G-2 unless such broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor or person meets the requirements of this rule.

(a) Municipal Securities Representative, Municipal Securities Sales Limited Representative and Limited Representative - Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products.

(i) Definitions.

(A) The term "municipal securities representative" means a natural person associated with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer, other than a person whose functions are solely clerical or ministerial, whose activities include one or more of the following:

(1) underwriting, trading or sales of municipal securities;

(2) financial advisory or consultant services for issuers in connection with the issuance of municipal securities;

(3) research or investment advice with respect to municipal securities; or

(4) any other activities which involve communication, directly or indirectly, with public investors in municipal securities;

provided, however, that the activities enumerated in subparagraphs (3) and (4) above shall be limited to such activities as they relate to the activities enumerated in subparagraphs (1) and (2) above.

(B) The term “municipal securities sales limited representative” means a municipal securities representative whose activities with respect to municipal securities are limited exclusively to sales to and purchases from customers of municipal securities.

(C) The term “limited representative – investment company and variable contracts products” means a municipal securities representative whose activities with respect to municipal securities are limited exclusively to sales to and purchases from customers of municipal fund securities.

(ii) Qualification Requirements.

(A) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (a)(ii), any person seeking to become qualified as a municipal securities representative, in accordance with the requirements under this subparagraph, shall take and pass the Securities Industry Essentials Examination (“SIE”) and the Municipal Securities Representative Qualification Examination prior to being qualified as a municipal securities representative.

(B) The requirements of subparagraph (a)(ii)(A) of this rule shall not apply to:

(1) any person who is duly qualified as a general securities representative by reason of having taken and passed the General Securities Registered Representative Examination before November 7, 2011, and

(2) a municipal securities sales limited representative who is duly qualified as a general securities representative by reason of having taken and passed the General Securities Registered Representative Examination.

(3) any person who is duly qualified as a limited representative - investment company and variable contracts products by reason of having taken and passed the Limited Representative - Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Examination.

(C) Any person who ceases to be associated with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer (whether as a municipal securities representative or otherwise) for two or more years at any time after having qualified as a municipal securities representative in accordance with subparagraph (a)(ii)(A) or (B) shall again meet the requirements of subparagraph (a)(ii)(A) or (B) of this rule prior to being qualified as a municipal securities representative, unless such person has maintained his or her qualification status in accordance with Rule G-3(i)(i)(C) or as otherwise permitted by the Board.

 

(b) Municipal Securities Principal; Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal.

(i) Definition. The term "municipal securities principal" means a natural person (other than a municipal securities sales principal), associated with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer who is directly engaged in the management, direction or supervision of one or more of the following activities:

(A) underwriting, trading or sales of municipal securities;

(B) financial advisory or consultant services for issuers in connection with the issuance of municipal securities;

(C) processing, clearance, and, in the case of brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers other than bank dealers, safekeeping of municipal securities;

(D) research or investment advice with respect to municipal securities;

(E) any other activities which involve communication, directly or indirectly, with public investors in municipal securities;

(F) maintenance of records with respect to the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E); or

(G) training of municipal securities principals or municipal securities representatives.

provided, however, that the activities enumerated in subparagraphs (D) and (E) above shall be limited to such activities as they relate to the activities enumerated in subparagraphs (A) or (B) above.

(ii) Qualification Requirements.

(A) Every municipal securities principal shall take and pass the Municipal Securities Principal Qualification Examination prior to being qualified as a municipal securities principal. The passing grade shall be determined by the Board.

(B) Any person seeking to become qualified as a municipal securities principal in accordance with subparagraph (b)(ii)(A) of this rule must, prior to being qualified as a municipal securities principal:

(1) have been duly qualified as either a municipal securities representative or a general securities representative; provided, however, that any person who qualifies as a municipal securities representative solely by reason of subparagraph (a)(ii)(C) shall not be qualified to take the Municipal Securities Principal Qualification Examination on or after October 1, 2002, and any person who qualifies as a municipal securities representative solely by reason of clause (a)(ii)(B)(2) shall not be qualified to take the Municipal Securities Principal Qualification Examination on or after November 7, 2011; or

(2) have taken and passed either the Municipal Securities Representative Qualification Examination or, in the case of persons described in clause (a)(ii)(B)(1), the General Securities Registered Representative Examination.

(C) Any person who ceases to act as a municipal securities principal for two or more years at any time after having qualified as such shall meet the requirements of subparagraphs (b)(ii)(A) and (B) of this rule prior to being qualified as a municipal securities principal, unless such person has maintained his or her qualification status in accordance with Rule G-3(i)(i)(C) or as otherwise permitted by the Board.

(D) For the first 120 calendar days after becoming a municipal securities principal, the requirements of subparagraph (b)(ii)(A) shall not apply to any person who is qualified as a municipal securities representative or general securities representative, provided that such qualified representative has at least 18 months of experience functioning as a representative within the five-year period immediately preceding the principal designation, or as a general securities principal, provided, however, that each such person shall take and pass the Municipal Securities Principal Qualification Examination within that period.

(iii) Numerical Requirements. Every broker, dealer and municipal securities dealer shall have at least two municipal securities principals, except:

(A) every broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer which is a member of a registered securities association and which conducts a general securities business, or

(B) every broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer having fewer than eleven persons associated with it in whatever capacity on a full-time or full-time equivalent basis who are engaged in the performance of its municipal securities activities, or, in the case of a bank dealer, in the performance of its municipal securities dealer activities, shall have at least one municipal securities principal.

(iv) Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal.

(A) Definition. The term "municipal fund securities limited principal" means a natural person (other than a municipal securities principal or municipal securities sales principal), associated with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer that has filed with the Board in compliance with rule A-12, who is directly engaged in the functions of a municipal securities principal as set forth in paragraph (b)(i), but solely as such activities relate to transactions in municipal fund securities.

(B) Qualification Requirements.

(1) Every municipal fund securities limited principal shall take and pass the Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal Qualification Examination prior to being qualified as a municipal fund securities limited principal. The passing grade shall be determined by the Board.

(2) Any person seeking to become qualified as a municipal fund securities limited principal in accordance with clause (b)(iv)(B)(1) of this rule must, as a condition to being qualified as a municipal fund securities limited principal:

(a) have been duly qualified as either a general securities principal or an investment company/variable contracts limited principal; or

(b) have taken and passed either the General Securities Principal Qualification Examination or the Investment Company and Annuity Principal Qualification Examination.

(3) Any person who ceases to act as a municipal fund securities limited principal for two or more years at any time after having qualified as such shall meet the requirements of clauses (b)(iv)(B)(1) and (2) of this rule prior to being qualified as a municipal fund securities limited principal, unless such person has maintained his or her qualification status in accordance with Rule G-3(i)(i)(C) or as otherwise permitted by the Board.

(4) For the first 120 calendar days after becoming a municipal fund securities limited principal, the requirements of clauses (b)(iv)(B)(1) and (2) shall not apply to any person who is qualified as a general securities representative or investment company/variable contracts limited representative, provided that such qualified representative has at least 18 months of experience functioning as a representative within the five-year period immediately preceding the principal designation, or as a general securities principal or investment company/variable contracts limited principal, provided, however, that each such person shall meet the requirements of clauses (b)(iv)(B)(1) and (2) within that period. 

(C) Actions as Municipal Securities Principal. Any municipal fund securities limited principal may undertake all actions required or permitted under any Board rule to be taken by a municipal securities principal, but solely with respect to activities related to municipal fund securities, and shall be subject to all provisions of Board rules applicable to municipal securities principals except to the extent inconsistent with this paragraph (b)(iv).

(D) Numerical Requirements. Any broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer whose municipal securities activities are limited exclusively to municipal fund securities may count any municipal fund securities limited principal toward the numerical requirement for municipal securities principal set forth in paragraph (b)(iii).

(c) Municipal Securities Sales Principal.

(i) Definition. The term "municipal securities sales principal" means a natural person (other than a municipal securities principal) associated with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer (other than a bank dealer) whose supervisory activities with respect to municipal securities are limited exclusively to supervising sales to and purchases from customers of municipal securities.

(ii) Qualification Requirements.

(A) Every municipal securities sales principal shall take and pass the General Securities Sales Supervisor Qualification Examination prior to acting in such capacity. The passing grade shall be determined by the Board.

(B) Any person seeking to become qualified as a municipal securities sales principal in accordance with subparagraph (c)(ii)(A) of this rule, must, prior to being qualified as a municipal securities sales principal:

(1) have been duly qualified as either a municipal securities representative or a general securities representative; or

(2) have taken and passed either the Municipal Securities Representative Qualification Examination or the General Securities Registered Representative Examination.

(C) Any person who ceases to act as a municipal securities sales principal for two or more years at any time after having qualified as such shall meet the requirements of subparagraphs (c)(ii)(A) and (B) of this rule prior to being qualified as a municipal securities sales principal, unless such person has maintained his or her qualification status in accordance with Rule G-3(i)(i)(C) or as otherwise permitted by the Board.

(D) For the first 120 calendar days after becoming a municipal securities sales principal, the requirements of subparagraph (c)(ii)(A) shall not apply to any person who is qualified as a municipal securities representative or general securities representative, provided that such qualified representative has at least 18 months of experience functioning as a representative within the five-year period immediately preceding the principal designation, or as a general securities principal, provided, however, that each such person shall take and pass the General Securities Sales Supervisory Qualification Examination within that period.

(d) Municipal Advisor Representative

(i) Definition.

(A) The term "municipal advisor representative" means a natural person associated with a municipal advisor who engages in municipal advisory activities on the municipal advisor’s behalf, other than a person performing only clerical, administrative, support or similar functions.

(ii) Qualification Requirements.

(A) Every municipal advisor representative shall take and pass the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination prior to being qualified as a municipal advisor representative. The passing grade shall be determined by the Board.

(B) Any person who ceases to be associated with or engaged in municipal advisory activities on behalf of a municipal advisor for two or more years at any time after having qualified as a municipal advisor representative in accordance with subparagraph (d)(ii)(A) (a "lapse in qualification") must take and pass the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination prior to being qualified as a municipal advisor representative, unless exempt pursuant to paragraph (h)(ii) of this rule.

(e) Municipal Advisor Principal

(i) Definition. The term "municipal advisor principal" means a natural person associated with a municipal advisor who is directly engaged in the management, direction or supervision of the municipal advisory activities of the municipal advisor and its associated persons.
 
(ii) Qualification Requirements.

(A) To become qualified as a municipal advisor principal a person must:

(1) As a pre-requisite take and pass the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination, unless exempt from taking the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination pursuant to paragraph (h)(ii) of this rule; and

(2) Take and pass the Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

The passing score shall be determined by the Board.

(B) Any person qualified as a municipal advisor principal who ceases to be associated with or engaged in municipal advisory activities on behalf of a municipal advisor for two or more years at any time after having qualified as a municipal advisor principal in accordance with subparagraph (e)(ii)(A) must take and pass the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination, unless exempt from taking the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination pursuant to paragraph (h)(ii) of this rule, and must take and pass the Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination prior to being qualified as a municipal advisor principal.

(C) For the first 120 calendar days after becoming a municipal advisor principal, the requirements of subparagraph (e)(ii)(A)(2) shall not apply to any person who is qualified as a municipal advisor representative, provided, however, that such person shall take and pass the Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination within that period.

(iii) Numerical Requirements. Every municipal advisor shall have at least one municipal advisor principal.

 

(f) Confidentiality of Qualification Examinations. No associated person of a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor shall:

(i) in the course of taking a qualification examination required by this rule receive or give assistance of any nature;

(ii) disclose to any person questions, or answers to any questions, on any qualification examination required by this rule;

(iii) engage in any activity inconsistent with the confidential nature of any qualification examination required by this rule, or with its purpose as a test of the qualification of persons taking such examinations; or

(iv) knowingly sign a false certification concerning any such qualification examination.

(g) Retaking of Qualification Examinations. Any associated person of a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor who fails to pass a qualification examination prescribed by the Board shall be permitted to take the examination again after a period of 30 days has elapsed from the date of the prior examination, except that any person who fails to pass an examination three or more times in succession within a two-year period shall be prohibited from again taking the examination until a period of 180 calendar days has elapsed from the date of such person's last attempt to pass the examination.

(h) Waiver of and Exemption from Qualification Requirements.

(i) The requirements of paragraphs (a)(ii), (b)(ii), (b)(iv)(B) and (c)(ii) may be waived in extraordinary cases for any associated person of a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer who demonstrates extensive experience in a field closely related to the municipal securities activities of such broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer or as permitted pursuant to Supplementary Material .04 of this rule. Such waiver may be granted by

(A) a registered securities association with respect to a person associated with a member of such association, or

(B) the appropriate regulatory agency as defined in section 3(a)(34) of the Act with respect to a person associated with any other broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer.

(ii) An individual shall be exempt from the requirements of subparagraph (d)(ii)(B) if all of the following conditions are met:

(A) The individual was previously qualified as a municipal advisor representative by taking and passing the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination.

(B) The individual maintained the municipal advisor representative qualification for a period of at least three consecutive years while associated with and engaging in municipal advisory activities on behalf of one or more municipal advisors.

(C) Such qualification lapsed pursuant to subparagraph (d)(ii)(B) of this rule and no more than one year has passed since such lapse in qualification.

(D) The individual has not engaged in activities requiring qualification as a municipal advisor representative, as prescribed under subparagraph (d)(i)(A) of this rule, during the individual’s lapse in qualification.

(E) The individual is not subject to any events or proceedings that resulted in a regulatory action disclosure report, civil judicial action disclosure report, customer complaint/arbitration/civil litigation disclosure report, criminal action disclosure report, or termination disclosure report on the Commission’s Form MA-I: Information Regarding Natural Persons Who Engage in Municipal Advisory Activities (“Commission Form MA-I”).

(F) The individual has not previously obtained the exemption described in paragraph (h)(ii) of this rule.

(G) Prior to engaging in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the municipal advisor with which the individual is to associate (or reassociate), as evidenced by the filing of Commission Form MA-I, the municipal advisor provided, and the individual completed, continuing education covering, at minimum, the subject areas of:

(1) principles of fair dealing;

(2) the applicable regulatory obligations under Rules G-20, on gifts and gratuities; G-37, on political contributions and prohibitions on municipal securities business and municipal advisory business, G-40, on advertising by municipal advisors, and G-8, on books and records to be made and maintained;

(3) for non-solicitor municipal advisors, the core conduct standards under Rule G-42, including the fiduciary duty obligations owed to municipal entity clients, or for solicitor municipal advisors, the core obligations of Rule G-46; and

(4) any changes to applicable securities laws and regulations, including applicable MSRB rules that were adopted since the individual was last associated with a municipal advisor.

(H) Prior to engaging in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the municipal advisor with which the individual is to associate (or reassociate), as evidenced by the filing of Commission Form MA-I, the municipal advisor provided, and the individual reviewed, the compliance policies and procedures of the municipal advisor.

(I) Upon meeting all of the conditions of subparagraphs (h)(ii)(A)-(H) above, the municipal advisor filed a completed Commission Form MA-I. Within 30 days of acceptance, by the Commission, of a completed Commission Form MA-I identifying such individual as engaging in municipal advisory activities on behalf of the municipal advisor, the municipal advisor provided notification electronically to the MSRB (the “affirmation notification”) that the individual met the criteria to be exempt from the requirements of subparagraph (d)(ii)(B). The affirmation notification required must be on firm letterhead and include the following information:

(1) Municipal Advisor’s MSRB ID number;

(2) Individual’s First and Last name;

(3) Individual’s FINRA Central Registration Depository (CRD) number, if applicable;

(4) Start date of the individual’s association (or reassociation) with the municipal advisor;

(5) Affirmative statement that the municipal advisor has undertaken a diligent effort to reasonably conclude that the individual met the applicable requirements of this paragraph (h)(ii);

(6) Affirmative statement attesting that the municipal advisor provided both the requisite continuing education and the municipal advisor’s compliance policies and procedures to the individual for review along with the date the individual completed the continuing education and review of the municipal advisor’s compliance policies and procedures provided by the municipal advisor;

(7) Date the municipal advisor filed Commission Form MA-I (and the date of acceptance) with respect to the individual as required under subparagraph (h)(ii)(I) and;

(8) Signature by the individual seeking to obtain the criteria-based exemption attesting that the conditions of subparagraphs (h)(ii)(A) through (h)(ii)(H) have been met and a signature by a municipal advisor principal, on behalf of the municipal advisor, attesting that, based on the exercise of reasonable diligence, the conditions of subparagraphs (h)(ii)(A) through (h)(ii)(I) have been met.

The municipal advisor must provide the affirmation notification required under this paragraph in accordance with Supplementary Material .02 of this rule.

(i) Continuing Education Requirements

(i) Continuing Education Requirements for Brokers, Dealers, and Municipal Securities Dealers—This paragraph prescribes requirements regarding the continuing education of specified registered persons subsequent to their initial qualification and registration with a registered securities association with respect to a person associated with a member of such association, or the appropriate regulatory agency as defined in Section 3(a)(34) of the Act with respect to a person associated with any other broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer ("the appropriate enforcement authority"). The requirements shall consist of a Regulatory Element and a Firm Element as set forth below. This subsection of this rule also sets forth a continuing education program through which specified persons may maintain their qualification in a representative or principal registration category following the termination of that registration category.

(A) Regulatory Element

(1) Requirements—No broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer shall permit any registered person to continue to, and no registered person shall continue to, perform duties as a registered person, unless such person has complied with the requirements of subparagraph (i)(i)(A) hereof.

Each covered person qualified in a representative or principal category immediately preceding January 1, 2023, shall complete the Regulatory Element for each applicable registration category annually by December 31, 2023, and by December 31 of every year thereafter in which the person remains registered, or as otherwise prescribed by the Board.

Each covered person registering with the appropriate enforcement authority in a representative or principal registration category for the first time on or after January 1, 2023 shall complete the Regulatory Element for each applicable registration category annually by December 31 of the subsequent calendar year following the calendar year in which the person becomes registered and by December 31 of every year thereafter in which the person remains registered, or as otherwise prescribed by the Board. Nothing in this subparagraph (A)(1) shall prohibit a broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer from requiring its covered persons to complete their Regulatory Element for each applicable registration category at any time during the calendar year. The content of the Regulatory Element shall be determined by the Board and shall be appropriate to each representative or principal registration category. A covered person shall complete Regulatory Element content for each applicable registration category that such person holds. The content of the Regulatory Element for a covered person designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04 of this rule shall be determined based on the person's most recent registration(s), and the Regulatory Element shall be completed based on the same annual cycle had the person remained registered.

(2) Failure to Complete—Unless otherwise determined by the Board, as provided in this paragraph (i)(i)(A)(2), any covered person, other than a covered person designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04, who has not completed the Regulatory Element within the prescribed calendar year in which the Regulatory Element is due will have such person's registrations deemed inactive until such time as such person completes all required Regulatory Element, including any Regulatory Element that becomes due while registration(s) is deemed inactive.

Any covered person, other than a covered person designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04 of this rule, whose registration(s) has been deemed inactive under this clause (i)(i)(A)(2) shall cease all activities as a registered person and is prohibited from performing any duties and functioning in any capacity requiring registration. Such covered person may not receive any compensation for transactions in municipal securities, however, such covered person may receive trails, residual commissions or like compensation resulting from such transactions completed before the covered person’s inactive status, unless the dealer with which the covered person is associated has a policy prohibiting such trails, residual commissions or like compensation.

A registration that remains inactive for a period of two consecutive years will be administratively terminated by the appropriate enforcement authority. A person whose registration(s) is so terminated or who otherwise fails to complete the required Regulatory Element for two consecutive years may reactivate the registration(s) only by reapplying for registration and meeting the qualification requirements of the applicable provisions of this rule. The two-year period under this clause (i)(i)(A)(2) is calculated from the date a person’s registration(s) is deemed inactive. If a covered person designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04 fails to complete the Regulatory Element within the prescribed time frames, the person shall no longer be eligible for such a waiver. The appropriate enforcement authority may, upon written application, with supporting documentation, and a showing of good cause, allow for additional time for a covered person to satisfy the Regulatory Element requirements.

(3) Disciplinary Actions—A covered person, other than a covered person designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04 of this rule, may be required to complete assigned continuing education as prescribed by the appropriate enforcement authority.

(a) becomes subject to any statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) of the Act;

(b) becomes subject to suspension or to the imposition of a fine of $5,000 or more for violation of any provision of any securities law or regulation, or any agreement with or rule or standard of conduct of any securities governmental agency, securities self-regulatory organization, the appropriate enforcement authority or as imposed by any such regulatory or self-regulatory organization in connection with a disciplinary proceeding; or

(c) is ordered as a sanction in a disciplinary action to complete continuing education by any securities governmental agency, the appropriate enforcement authority or securities self-regulatory organization.

Such covered person must complete any continuing education required under subparagraph (A)(3) of this rule within 120 days of the covered person becoming subject to the statutory disqualification, in the case of clause (a) above, or the completion of the sanction or the disciplinary action becomes final, in the case of clause (b) or clause (c) above.

(4) Re-registration—Any covered person who re-registers with the appropriate enforcement authority in a representative or principal registration category shall complete the Regulatory Element  content for each applicable registration category annually by December 31 of the subsequent calendar year following the calendar year in which the person becomes re-registered and by December 31 of every year thereafter in which the person remains registered, or as otherwise prescribed by the appropriate enforcement authority, provided that such person has already completed the Regulatory Element content for that registration category for the calendar year in which such person is re-registering; such person is re-registering by having passed an examination for that registration category; or such person is re-registering by having obtained an unconditional examination waiver for that registration category.

Any covered person who is re-registering with the appropriate enforcement authority in a representative or principal registration category without having completed any Regulatory Element content for that registration category for the calendar year in which such person is re-registering or without having passed an examination for that registration category or without having obtained an unconditional examination waiver for that registration category shall complete the Regulatory Element content for that registration category annually by December 31 of the calendar year in which such person re-registers and by December 31 of every year thereafter in which such person remains registered, or as otherwise prescribed by the Board. 

If a covered person has not completed any Regulatory Element content for a registration category in the prior calendar year(s) to re-registering, such persons would need to either: (i) complete the requisite Regulatory Element content; (ii) pass an examination for that registration category; or (iii) obtain an unconditional examination waiver for that registration category, as applicable, for purposes of the appropriate enforcement authority to consider approving the registration request. 

Nothing in this subparagraph (A)(4) shall prohibit a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer from requiring its covered persons, other than a covered person designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04 of this rule, to complete their Regulatory Element for their registration categories at any time during the calendar year.

(5) Definition of Covered Person—For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "covered person" means any person registered or registering with the appropriate enforcement authority as a municipal securities representative, municipal securities principal, municipal fund securities limited principal or municipal securities sales principal, including any person who is permissively registered as such pursuant to Supplementary Material .03,  of this rule, and any person who is designated as eligible for a waiver pursuant to Supplementary Material .04, of this rule.

(6) Delivery of the Regulatory Element—The Regulatory Element shall be administered through Web-based delivery or such other technological manner and format as specified by the Board.

(B) Firm Element

(1) Persons Subject to the Firm Element—The requirements of this subparagraph shall apply to any person registered or registering with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer, including any person who is permissively registered as a representative or principal pursuant to Supplementary Material .03 of this rule and who qualified as a representative or principal in accordance with this rule or as a general securities principal and who regularly engages in or supervises municipal securities activities.

(2) Standards for the Firm Element

(a) Each broker, dealer and municipal securities dealer must maintain a continuing and current education program for its registered persons to enhance their securities knowledge, skill, and professionalism. At a minimum, each broker, dealer and municipal securities dealer shall at least annually evaluate and prioritize its training needs, develop a written training plan, and conduct training annually on municipal securities for registered persons. The plan must take into consideration the broker, dealer and municipal securities dealer’s size, organizational structure, and scope of business activities, as well as regulatory developments and the performance of registered persons in the Regulatory Element.

(b) Minimum Standards for Training Programs—Programs used to implement a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer's training plan must be appropriate for the business of the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer and, at a minimum must cover training topics related to the role, activities, or responsibilities of the registered person and to professional responsibility.

(c) Administration of Continuing Education Program—A broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer must administer its continuing education programs under this subparagraph (B) in accordance with its annual evaluation and written plan and must maintain records documenting the content of the programs and completion of the programs by registered persons.

(d) Participation in Other Required Training - A broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer may consider a registered person’s participation in the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer’s anti-money laundering compliance training as required by a registered securities association of which the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer is a member or the appropriate regulatory agency; and a registered person’s participation in such broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer’s annual compliance training, as required by the registered securities association, towards satisfying the registered person’s continuing education requirement under this subparagraph (B).

(3) Participation in the Firm Element—Registered persons included in a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer’s plan under this subparagraph (B) must take all appropriate and reasonable steps to participate in continuing education programs as required by the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer.

(4) Specific Training Requirements—The appropriate enforcement authority may require a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer, individually or as part of a larger group, to provide specific training to its registered persons in such areas the appropriate enforcement authority deems appropriate. Such a requirement may stipulate the class of registered persons for which it is applicable, the time period in which the requirement must be satisfied and, where appropriate, the actual training content.

(C) Continuing Education Program for Persons Maintaining Their Qualification Following the Termination of a Registration Category

A person who terminates any of his or her representative or principal registration categories with the appropriate enforcement authority may maintain qualification for any of the terminated registration categories for a period of five years following the termination of the registration category, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The person was registered in the registration category for at least one year immediately preceding the termination of the registration category and the person was not subject to a statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) of the Exchange Act during the registration period;

(2) Prior to entering, or during the course of, the CE Program, the person does not have a continuing education deficiency with respect to his or her Regulatory Element for two consecutive years as provided in subclause (i)(i)(A)(2) of this rule under this subparagraph (C);

(3) The person does not become subject to a statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) of the Exchange Act following the termination of his or her registration category or while participating in the program under this subparagraph (C);

(4) The person completes annually by December 31st of the calendar year in the manner specified, all prescribed continuing education during such person’s participation in the program under this subparagraph (C) of this rule.

A person must elect to participate in the continuing education program under this subparagraph (C) within two years from the termination of such person’s  registration category, provided that if the person commences participation at a later date, the person shall complete within two years from the termination of such person’s registration category any continuing education that was due under the program between the date of termination of such person’s registration category and the later date such person commences participation in the program.

(ii) Continuing Education Requirements for Municipal Advisors

(A) Persons Subject to Continuing Education Requirements—The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to any person qualified as either a municipal advisor representative or a municipal advisor principal with a municipal advisor in accordance with this rule (collectively, "covered persons").

(B) Standards for a Continuing Education Program  

(1) Each municipal advisor must maintain a continuing and current education program for its covered persons to enhance their municipal advisory knowledge, skill, and professionalism. At a minimum, each municipal advisor shall at least annually evaluate and prioritize its training needs, develop a written training plan, and conduct training annually on municipal advisory activities for covered persons.

The plan must take into consideration the municipal advisor’s size, organizational structure, and scope of municipal advisory activities, as well as regulatory developments.

(2) Minimum Standards for Training Programs — Programs used to implement a municipal advisor’s training plan must be appropriate for the business of the municipal advisor and, at a minimum must cover the following matters concerning municipal advisory activities, services and strategies offered by the municipal advisor:

(a) Fiduciary duty obligations owed to municipal entity clients; and

(b) Applicable regulatory requirements.

(3) Administration of Continuing Education Program—A municipal advisor must administer its continuing education program in accordance with its annual evaluation and written training plan and must maintain records documenting the content of the programs and completion of the programs by covered persons.

(C) Participation in the Continuing Education Program—Covered persons included in a municipal advisor’s plan must participate in continuing education programs as required by the municipal advisor.

(D) Specific Training Requirements—A registered securities association with respect to a municipal advisor that is a member of such association, or the Commission, or the Commission’s designee, with respect to any other municipal advisor (“the appropriate examining authority”), may require a municipal advisor, individually or as part of a larger group, to provide specific training to its covered persons in such areas the appropriate examining authority deems appropriate. Such a requirement may stipulate the class of covered persons for which it is applicable, the time period in which the requirement must be satisfied and, where appropriate, the actual training content.

(E) Each municipal advisor that is also subject to the Standards for the Firm Element as required by Rule G-3(i)(i)(B)(2) is permitted to satisfy the requirements of Rules G-3(i)(i)(B) and G-3(i)(ii), if the municipal advisor: 

(1) Develops a single written training plan, if such training plan is consistent with the separate evaluations of the training needs as required under subparagraphs (i)(i)(B)(2)(a) and (i)(ii)(B)(1); and

(2) Conducts annual training for both covered persons and covered registered persons, if such training is consistent with the written training plan(s) and such training meets the minimum standards for training programs required by subparagraphs (i)(i)(B)(2)(b) and (i)(ii)(B)(2).

Supplementary Material

.01 Solicitations of Sales to and Purchases from Customers. In each instance in which the rule references sales of municipal securities or sales to and purchases from customers, such activities may also include the solicitation of sales to and/or purchases from customers.

.02 Affirmation Notification. The affirmation notification required to be provided to the MSRB pursuant to subparagraph (h)(ii)(I) of this rule must be sent to Compliance@msrb.org.

.03 Permissive Qualification. A broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer shall be permitted to make application for, or maintain the qualification of, a municipal securities representative, municipal securities principal or municipal fund securities limited principal for any associated person, including, persons whose functions are solely clerical or ministerial or engaged in the investment banking or securities business of a foreign securities affiliate or subsidiary. Any person maintaining a permissive qualification shall be considered a “registered person” for purposes of MSRB rules to the extent relevant to their activities.

.04 Waiver from Requalification by Examination for Individuals Working for a Financial Services Industry Affiliate of a Broker, Dealer or Municipal Securities Dealer. The requirement to requalify by examination for a lapsed qualification pursuant to subparagraphs (a)(ii)(C), (b)(ii)(C) and (b)(iv)(B)(3) of this rule shall be waived upon request to the proper registered securities association or the appropriate regulatory agency consistent with paragraph (h) of this rule for an individual if the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) An individual must have been registered with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer for a total of five years within the most recent 10-year period, including the most recent year with the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer having designated the individual as eligible for a waiver by having met the requirement of this subparagraph;

(2) The waiver request is made within seven years of the individual’s initial designation;

(3) The individual continuously worked for a financial services industry affiliate(s) of a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer since terminating association with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer;

(4) The individual has completed the Regulatory Element portion of continuing education consistent with the requirements in Rule G-3(i)(i)(A) based on the person’s most recent registration status and on the same Regulatory Element cycle had the person remained registered; and

(5) The individual does not have any pending or adverse regulatory matters or terminations and has not otherwise been subject to a statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) of the Exchange Act while the individual was working for a financial services industry affiliate(s) of a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer.

As used under this Supplementary Material, the term “financial services industry affiliate of a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer” means any legal entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer and is regulated by the SEC, CFTC, state securities authorities, federal or state banking authorities, state insurance authorities, or substantially equivalent foreign regulatory authorities.

On or after March 15, 2022, individuals are no longer able to be designated as an FSA-eligible individual for the waiver program set forth under this Supplementary Material .04 of this rule.

.05 Eligibility of Other Persons to Participate in the Continuing Education Program. A person qualified in a representative or principal registration category with the MSRB within two years immediately preceding March 15, 2022, shall be eligible to participate in the continuing education program under subparagraph (i)(i)(C), provided that such person satisfies the conditions set forth in subparagraph (i)(i)(C)(1) through (5) of this rule. In addition, a person who previously obtained a waiver from requalification by examination by participating in the Financial Services Affiliate Waiver Program under Supplementary Material .04 immediately preceding March 15, 2022, shall be eligible to participate in the continuing education program under subparagraph (i)(i)(C), provided that such person satisfies the conditions set forth in subparagraph (i)(i)(C)(3), and (C)(5) through (C)(6) of this rule.

Persons eligible under this Supplementary Material .05 shall make their election to participate in the continuing education program under subparagraph (i)(i)(C). If such persons elect to participate in the continuing education program, such persons must comply with the requirements of the registered securities association, with respect to the timeframe for making such an election.

.06 Re-Eligibility to Participate in the Continuing Education Program.  A person who previously participated in the continuing education program pursuant to subparagraph (i)(i)(C) of this rule may become re-eligible to participate in the program if such person re-registers with a member of a registered securities association or appropriate regulatory agency and subsequently satisfies the conditions set forth in subparagraph (i)(i)(C)(1) and (C)(3) of this rule. In such an event, the person may elect to again participate in the program subject to satisfying the remaining conditions set forth in subparagraph (i)(i)(C).

.07 All Registered Representatives and Principals Must Satisfy the Regulatory Element of Continuing Education. If a registered person has a continuing education deficiency with respect to that registration as provided under Rule G-3(i)(i)(A), such persons shall not be permitted to be qualified in another registration category under Rule G-3 until such persons have satisfied the deficiency.

.08 Extension of Time Period to Complete Continuing Education Under the CE Maintenance Program. If a person is unable to complete the prescribed continuing education, as provided under Rule G-3(i)(i)(C) by December 31st of the required calendar year, such person may apply for an extension of time by submitting a written application with supporting documentation to the registered securities association.

.09 Status of Qualified Persons Serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(a) Inactive Status for Current Associated Persons

(1) An associated person of a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor who volunteers for or is called into active U.S. military service shall be deemed inactive for purposes of qualification for the period that such person is on active U.S. military service. If applicable, such person will not be required to requalify by examination upon such person’s return to employment with a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor so long as such person returns to employment with a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor within 30 calendar days upon the conclusion of such person’s active U.S. military service.

(2) An associated person, as identified in subparagraph (a)(1) of this Supplementary Material, shall remain eligible to receive transaction-related compensation, including continuing commissions. The employing broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor of such associated person may also allow another associated person of the broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor to enter into an arrangement to take over and service the clients’ accounts of such associated person and to share transaction-related compensation based upon the business generated by such accounts with the associated person who is placed on inactive status pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this Supplementary Material.

(3) An associated person who is placed on inactive status pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this Supplementary Material shall not be required to complete continuing education program requirements as set forth in Rule G-3(i) during the pendency of the person’s inactive status.

(4) Notice must be provided electronically to the MSRB within 30 calendar days, upon the conclusion of active U.S. military service and such person’s return to employment with such broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor with which the person was associated with during the period of active U.S. military service or employment with another broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor. The notice required shall be on firm letterhead and include the following information:

(a) Firm’s MSRB ID number;

(b) Individual’s name;

(c) Individual’s CRD number, if applicable;

(d) Start and end dates of the individual’s active U.S. military

service; and

(e) Branch of service.

(b) Inactive Status for Sole Proprietors

(1) A broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor that is a sole proprietor who temporarily closes his or her business because of volunteering for or being called into active U.S. military service shall be placed on inactive status after proper notification to the registered securities association with which the broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor is registered or the Board with respect to any other broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor. Such sole proprietor will not be required to requalify by examination upon such person’s return to his or her municipal securities or municipal advisory business.

(2) A sole proprietor placed on inactive status as set forth in this paragraph (b) shall not be required to pay fees assessed under Rule A-11 and Rule A-12, as applicable, that accrue during such period of inactive status. 

(3) Notice must be provided electronically to the MSRB within 30 calendar days, upon the conclusion of active U.S. military service and such person’s return from active U.S. military service to his or her municipal securities or municipal advisory business. The notice required shall be on firm letterhead and include the following information:

(a) Firm’s MSRB ID number; 

(b) Individual’s name; 

(c) Individual’s CRD number, if applicable;

(d) Start and end dates of the individual’s active U.S. military

                                   service; and;

(e) Branch of service.  

Absent notice to the MSRB, former associated persons of a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor will not have such person’s lapse in qualification requirements deferred and such person’s period of time while on active U.S. military service will not be tolled.

(c) Status for Former Associated Persons

(1) If a person who was formerly associated with a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor volunteers for or is called into active U.S. military service at any time within the two-year period after the date such person ceases to be associated with a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor, the lapse of such person’s representative and principal-level qualifications, pursuant to subparagraphs (a)(ii)(C), (b)(ii)(C) and (b)(iv)(B)(3) of this rule, shall be deferred (i.e., tolling of the two-year expiration period). 

(2) The deferral of the lapse in qualification requirements for associated persons of a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor would commence on the date the person begins active U.S. military service, provided that notice is provided to the MSRB.

(3) Notice must be provided electronically to the MSRB within 90 calendar days upon such person’s completion of active U.S. military service and include the following information:

(a) Individual’s name;

(b) Individual’s CRD number, if applicable;

(c) Start and end dates of the individual’s active U.S. military  

service; and

(d) Branch of service.

Absent notice to the MSRB, former associated persons of a dealer or municipal advisor will not have such person’s lapse in qualification requirements deferred and such person’s period of time while on active U.S. military service will not be tolled.

Compliance Resource
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Compliance Resource
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Rule G-3 Amendment History (since 2003)

 

 

 

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Financial Advisory Relationship: Private Placements

Financial advisory relationship: private placements. This is in response to your letter in which you seek clarification on certain matters related to rules G-23, on activities of financial advisors, and G-37, on political contributions and prohibitions on municipal securities business.

You ask when it is "necessary in the process of commencing preliminary work with a potential financial advisory client to enter into a formal written financial advisory contract." Rule G-23(c) states that "[e]ach financial advisory relationship shall be evidenced by a writing entered into prior to, upon or promptly after the inception of the financial advisory relationship (or promptly after the creation or selection of the issuer if the issuer does not exist or has not been determined at the time the relationship commences)." Rule G-23(b) states that "...a financial advisory relationship shall be deemed to exist when a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer renders or enters into an agreement to render financial advisory or consultant services to or on behalf of an issuer with respect to a new issue or issues of municipal securities, including advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms and other similar matters concerning such issue or issues, for a fee or other compensation or in expectation of such compensation for the rendering of such services."

You ask whether you are to advise the Board by means of reporting on Form G-37/G-38 or by any other means when you commence work on subsequent financing transactions with an issuer with which your firm has an ongoing financial advisory contract. The Instructions for Completing and Filing Form G-37/G-38 provide a guideline to use in determining when to report financial advisory services on Form G-37/G-38.[1] Pursuant to these Instructions, dealers should indicate financial advisory services when an agreement is reached to provide the services. In addition, the Instructions note that dealers also should indicate financial advisory services during a reporting period when the settlement date for a new issue on which the dealer acted as financial advisor occurred during such period. There are no other requirements for reporting financial advisory services to the Board.

Finally, you ask whether rules G-23 or G-37 contain requirements concerning private placement activities. The term "municipal securities business" is defined in rule G-37 to include "the offer or sale of a primary offering of municipal securities on behalf of any issuer ( e.g. , private placement)..." The Instructions for Completing and Filing Form G-37/G-38 provide that private placements should be indicated at least by the settlement date if within the reporting period.

With respect to rule G-23, section (d) of the rule states that no dealer that has a financial advisory relationship with respect to a new issue of municipal securities shall acquire as principal either alone or as a participant in a syndicate or other similar account formed for the purpose of purchasing, directly or indirectly, from the issuer all or any portion of such issue, or act as agent for the issuer in arranging the placement of such issue, unless various actions are taken.[2] In addition, rule G-23(g) states that each dealer subject to the provisions of sections (d), (e) or (f) of rule G-23 shall maintain a copy of the written disclosures, acknowledgments and consents required by these sections in a separate file and in accordance with the provisions of rule G-9, on preservation of records. Finally, rule G-23(h) states that, if a dealer acquires new issue municipal securities or participates in a syndicate or other account that acquires new issue municipal securities in accordance with section (d) of rule G-23, such dealer shall disclose the existence of the financial advisory relationship in writing to each customer who purchases such securities from such dealer, at or before the completion of the transaction with the customer. MSRB interpretation of October 5, 1999.

[1] I have enclosed a copy of the Instructions for Completing and Filing Form G-37/G-38 as contained in the MSRB Rule Book. The instructions are also contained on the Board's web site (www.msrb.org) under the link for rule G-37.

[2] These actions are: (i) if such issue is to be sold by the issuer on a negotiated basis, (A) the financial advisory relationship with respect to such issue has been terminated in writing and at or after such termination the issuer has expressly consented in writing to such acquisition or participation, as principal or agent, in the purchase of the securities on a negotiated basis; (B) the dealer has expressly disclosed in writing to the issuer at or before such termination that there may be a conflict of interest in changing from the capacity of financial advisor to purchaser of or placement agent for the securities with respect to which the financial advisory relationship exists and the issuer has expressly acknowledged in writing to the dealer receipt of such disclosure; and (C) the dealer has expressly disclosed in writing to the issuer at or before such termination the source and anticipated amount of all remuneration to the dealer with respect to such issue in addition to the compensation referred to in section (c) of rule G-23, and the issuer has expressly acknowledged in writing to the dealer receipt of such disclosure; or (ii) if such issue is to be sold by the issuer at competitive bid, the issuer has expressly consented in writing prior to the bid to such acquisition or participation.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Execution of Infrequent Unsolicited Orders

Execution of infrequent unsolicited orders. This is in response to your letter in which you state that your firm is a discount broker that executes orders on an unsolicited basis and that occasionally a customer will approach your firm to sell a municipal security they own or to purchase a specific issue.  You ask that the Board give consideration to allowing a firm like yours to act as a broker/dealer for customers on an unsolicited basis without being required to have an associated person qualified as a municipal securities principal.

Rule G-2, on standards of professional qualification, states that no dealer shall effect any transaction in, or induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, any municipal security unless such dealer and every natural person associated with such dealer is qualified in accordance with the rules of the Board.  Rule G-3, on professional qualifications, states that a dealer that conducts a general securities business shall have at least one associated person qualified as a municipal securities principal to supervise the dealer’s municipal securities activities.

The Board’s rules do not provide an exemption from the numerical requirements for municipal securities principals based on the type of transactions in municipal securities in which a dealer engages.  There also is no exemption from the Board’s rules based on a de minimus number of transactions in municipal securities.  MSRB interpretation of October 2, 1998.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Municipal Securities Principal: MSRB Registered Dealer

Municipal securities principal: MSRB registered dealer. This is in response to your March 21, 1994 letter to [name deleted] of the National Association of Securities Dealers, a copy of which you sent to my attention. The issue in question is whether [name deleted] (the “Dealer”) is required at this time to have someone qualified as a municipal securities principal.

You note in your letter that the activities that the Dealer will be engaging in currently do not involve municipal securities, therefore, you concluded that the Dealer is not subject to the Board’s requirement that the dealer have at least one municipal securities principal.

Board rules apply only to brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers who have registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and who engage in municipal securities activities. A dealer “registers” with the Board, pursuant to rule A-12, on the Board’s initial fee, by submitting a letter with certain information and paying the … initial fee along with the … annual fee pursuant to rule A-14, on the Board’s annual fee. Rule A-12 requires that the information and fee be submitted to the Board prior to the dealer engaging in municipal securities activities. Once a dealer is “registered” with the Board all Board rules are applicable to that dealer including the requirement in rule G-3, on professional qualifications, that every dealer shall have at least one municipal securities principal.[1]

Regardless of whether the Dealer is currently engaging in municipal securities activities, the dealer has “registered” with the Board and is subject to the Board’s requirement that the dealer have a municipal securities principal.[2]  If the Dealer determines that it does not wish to remain “registered” with the Board upon its conclusion that it is not engaging in municipal securities activities, rule A-15(a), on notification to Board of termination, requires that the Dealer submit a letter to the Board with a statement of its termination. In the future, should the dealer remain a registered broker or dealer with the SEC and make a determination that it will be engaging in municipal securities activities, the dealer will have to “register” with the Board pursuant to the requirements of rules A-12 and A-14 prior to engaging in municipal securities activities and, of course, meet the Board’s numerical requirements concerning municipal securities principals. MSRB interpretation of March 30, 1994.


[1]  Rule G-3(b)(iii) requires that a dealer have two municipal securities principals if the dealer performs only municipal securities activities and it employs eleven or more persons associated with it in whatever capacity on a full-time or full-time equivalent basis who are engaged in the performance of its municipal securities activities.

[2]   I have enclosed a copy of the December 14, 1993 letter you submitted to the Board pursuant to rule A-12.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Supervision of Data Processing Functions

Supervision of data processing functions.  I am writing in response to your letter of November 7, 1988 and our subsequent telephone conversation by which you requested an interpretation of the Board’s qualification requirements for municipal securities principals. You asked whether an individual, who is presently qualified as a representative, additionally must be qualified as a municipal securities principal because he has oversight and supervisory responsibility for the firm’s data processing department.

Board rule G-3(a)(i)[*] defines a municipal securities principal as a person directly engaged in the management, direction or supervision of one or more enumerated representative activities. Consequently, whether or not this individual must be qualified as a municipal securities principal depends on whether he is supervising such activities, i.e., whether the data processing department employees are functioning as municipal securities representatives.

You state that the data processing department assists this individual by performing the calculations necessary in the structuring of municipal bond issues and underwritings. Moreover, you note that the employees in the data processing department do not communicate with customers, including issuers, in carrying out their duties and that the above financial advisory and underwriting activities are otherwise supervised by a qualified municipal securities principal.

Based upon the facts set forth above, we are of the view that the individual described supervises only  clerical or ministerial functions, and he is therefore not a municipal securities principal within the meaning of Board rule G-3. MSRB interpretation of December 9, 1988.


[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(b)(i)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Supervisory Structure

Supervisory structure.  This is in response to your letter of December 31, 1986 and our subsequent telephone conversation. You note that there has been a recent reorganization within your bank. As a consequence, you, as the head of the dealer department, now will report to the bank officer who also is in charge of the trust department and the bank's investment portfolio, rather than directly to the bank's president as had been the case. You ask whether this arrangement might constitute a conflict of interest under trust regulations or otherwise under Board rules.

Board rule G-27 places an obligation upon a dealer to supervise its municipal securities activities. It requires a dealer to accomplish this objective by designating individuals with supervisory responsibility for municipal securities activities and requires the dealer to adopt written supervisory procedures to this end. The rule does not specify how a dealer should structure its supervisory procedures, provided that the dealer adopts an organizational structure which meets the intent of the rule. You should review your dealer's written supervisory procedures to ensure that they provide for the appropriate delegation of supervisory responsibilities, given the reorganization within the bank.

You noted that the individual to whom you will be reporting is presently qualified as a municipal securities representative but not as a municipal securities principal. Board rule G-3(a)(i)[*] defines a municipal securities principal as an associated person of a securities firm or bank dealer who is directly engaged in the management, direction or supervision of municipal securities activities. If, under the new reorganization, this individual will be designated with day-to-day responsibility for the management, direction or supervision of the municipal securities activities of the dealer, then he must be qualified as a municipal securities principal.

Finally, trust regulations are governed by the appropriate banking law and not by Board rules. Consequently, any concerns that you may have with respect to possible conflicts of interest with trust regulations should be directed to the appropriate bank regulatory agency. MSRB interpretation of March 11, 1987.

 


 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(b)(i).]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

"Municipal Securities Principal" Defined

"Municipal Securities Principal" defined. This is in response to your letter of January 28, 1987, and subsequent telephone conversations with the Board's staff, requesting an interpretation of Board rule G-3(a)(i)[*], the definition of the term "Municipal Securities Principal". You ask whether an individual, who has day-to-day responsibility for directing the municipal underwriting activities of a firm, must be qualified as a municipal securities principal. You suggest that such activity seems to meet the definition of a municipal securities principal, namely, an individual who is "directly engaged in the management, direction or supervision of. . .underwriting . . .of municipal securities." You note that this individual has the authority to make underwriting commitments in the name of the firm, but that the firm's president is designated with supervisory responsibility for this individual's underwriting activity. Also, you indicated that this individual does not have supervisory responsibility for any other representative.

Your request for an interpretation was referred to a Committee of the Board which has responsibility for professional qualification matters. The Committee concluded that the individual you describe would not be required to qualify as a municipal securities principal, provided that her responsibilities are limited to directing the day-to-day underwriting activities of the dealer, and provided that these responsibilities are carried out within policy guidelines established by the dealer and under the direct supervision of a municipal securities principal. The Committee is also of the opinion that commitment authority alone is not indicative of principal activity, but rather is inherent in the underwriting activities of a municipal securities representative. MSRB interpretation of February 27, 1987.

 


 

[*][Currently codified at rule G-3(b)(i)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Disqualification of Municipal Securities Principals

Disqualification of municipal securities principals. In our recent telephone conversation you asked whether the Board has interpreted rule G-3(c)(iv)[*] as to the qualification status of a municipal securities principal in circumstances where the bank dealer, with which the individual is associated, fails to effect a municipal security transaction for a period of two or more years. You proposed that, if there are no municipal securities transactions for the principal to supervise, the individual would not be considered to be "acting as a municipal securities principal" and, consequently, the individual's qualification as a municipal securities principal would lapse after a two-year period of such inactivity.

The Board has considered a similar situation and given an interpretation in the matter. It reaffirmed the interpretation that an individual whose responsibilities no longer include supervision of municipal securities activities probably will not be able to remain adequately informed in the supervisory and compliance matters of concern to municipal securities principals, and that continuing association with a municipal securities dealer, in a capacity other than that of a municipal securities principal, is not sufficient to maintain qualification as a municipal securities principal. However, the Board also concluded that it did not intend this interpretation of rule G-3(c)(iv)[*] to mean that a dealer must necessarily effect transactions in municipal securities in order for its municipal securities principal to maintain such qualification. The Board noted that the definition of a municipal securities principal not only includes supervision of trading or sales, but of other municipal securities activities as well. Consequently, the Board determined that the qualification of a municipal securities principal should not automatically terminate because the individual is associated with a municipal securities broker or dealer which has not effected a municipal securities transaction in two or more years, but that to maintain such qualification the individual must demonstrate clearly that:

--the municipal securities broker or dealer was engaged in municipal securities activity during this period (e.g., determinations of suitability involving municipal securities, recommendations to customers, advertising, financial advisory activity with respect to municipal issuers); and

--the individual in question had been designated with supervisory responsibility for such municipal securities activities during this period.

MSRB interpretation of January 15, 1987

 


 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(b)(ii)(C)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Cold Calling

Cold calling. This is in response to your letter regarding the application of rule G-3, concerning professional qualifications, to non-qualified individuals contacting institutional investors. You refer to the Board’s December 21, 1984  notice stating that non-qualified individuals making “cold calls” to individuals and introducing the services offered by a municipal securities dealer, prequalifying potential customers or suggesting the purchase of securities must be qualified as a municipal securities representative. You ask whether a non-qualified individual may make a “cold call” to an institutional portfolio manager solely for the purpose of introducing the name of the municipal securities dealer to the portfolio manager and to inquire as to the type of securities in which it invests. You state that the individual or individuals making the calls would be specifically instructed not to discuss the purchase or sale of any specific security.

Board rule G-3(a)(iii)[*] defines municipal securities representative activities to include any activity which involves communication with public investors regarding the sale of municipal securities but exempts activities that are solely clerical or ministerial. As you noted, in December 1984, the Board issued an interpretation of rule G-3 which states that individuals who solicit new account business are not engaging in clerical or ministerial activities but rather are communicating with public investors regarding the sale of municipal securities and thus are engaging in municipal securities representative activities which require such individuals to be qualified as representatives under the Board’s rules. Examples of solicitation of new account business stated in the notice included “cold calls” to individuals during which the non-qualified individual introduces the services offered by the dealers, prequalified potential customers, or suggests the purchase of specific securities currently being offered by a municipal securities dealer. An individual who introduces the name of the municipal securities dealer and inquires as to the type of securities in which a portfolio manager invests would be communicating with the public in an attempt to prequalify potential customers and thus must be qualified as a municipal securities representative. MSRB interpretation of January 5, 1987.

 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(i).]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
Publication date:

Use of Nonqualified Individuals to Solicit New Account Business

The Board has received inquiries whether individuals who solicit new account business on behalf of municipal securities dealers must be qualified under the Board’s rules. In particular, it has come to the Board’s attention that nonqualified individuals are making "cold calls" to individuals and, by reading from prepared scripts, introduce the services offered by a municipal securities dealer, prequalify potential customers, or suggest the purchase of specific securities currently being offered by a municipal securities dealer.

Board rule G-3(a) defines municipal securities representative activities to include any activity which involves communication with public investors regarding the sale of municipal securities but exempts activities that are solely clerical or ministerial. In the past, the Board has permitted nonqualified individuals, under the clerical or ministerial exemption, to contact existing customers in very limited circumstances. In an interpretive notice on rule G-3, the Board permitted certain ministerial and clerical functions to be performed by nonqualified individuals when municipal securities representatives and principals who normally handle the customers' accounts are unavailable, subject to strict supervisory requirements. These functions are: the recording and transmission in customary channels of orders, the reading of approved quotations, and the giving of reports of transactions. In this notice, the Board added that solicitation of orders by clerical personnel is not permitted. The Board is of the view that individuals who solicit new account business are not engaging in clerical or ministerial activities but rather are communicating with public investors regarding the sale of municipal securities and thus are engaging in municipal securities representative activities which require such individuals to be qualified as representatives under the Board’s rules.

Finally, under rule G-3(i)[*], a person serving an apprenticeship period prior to qualification as a municipal securities representative may not communicate with public investors regarding the sale of municipal securities. The Board sees no reason to allow nonqualified individuals to contact public investors, except for the limited functions noted above, when persons training to become qualified municipal securities representatives may not do so.


[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(iii)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Inclusion of IDB-Related Activities

Inclusion of IDB-related activities. This responds to your letter of June 14, 1983 concerning your request for an interpretation of Board rule G-1, which defines a "separately identifiable department or division" of a bank. In particular, you request our advice concerning whether certain activities engaged in by your Corporate Finance Division (the "Division") should be considered "municipal securities dealer activities" for purposes of the rule. Your letter and a subsequent telephone conversation set forth the following facts:

The Division acts as financial advisor to certain corporate customers of the Bank. Some of these customers wish to raise money through the issuance of IDBs. In order to assist these corporations in the placement of the IDBs, the Division contacts from one to ten institutional investors and provides them with information regarding the terms of the proposed financing and basic facts about the corporation. If the investor expresses interest in the financing, a confidential memorandum describing the financing, prepared by the corporation with the assistance of the Division, is sent.

During negotiations between the corporation and the investor, the Division may act as a liaison between the two parties in the communication of comments on the financing documents. According to the bank, the Division is not an agent of the corporation and is not authorized to act on behalf of the corporation in accepting any terms or conditions associated with the proposed financing. For its services, the Division usually receives a percentage of the total dollar amount of securities issued, with a minimum contingent on the successful completion of the deal. While the bank has established a separately identifiable division pursuant to rule G-1, the Division is not part of it.

Your inquiry was discussed by the Board at its July meeting. The Board is of the view that the activities of the Division, as described, constitute the sales of municipal securities for purposes of the definition of municipal securities dealer activities in Board rule G-1. Therefore, these activities should be conducted in the bank's registered separately identifiable department by persons qualified under the Board's professional qualifications rules. MSRB interpretation of July 26, 1983.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
Publication date:

Application of Board Rules to Financial Advisory Services Rendered to Corporate Obligors on Industrial Development Bonds

In a recent letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken the position that private placements of industrial development bonds ("IDBs") constitute transactions in municipal securities as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has received a number of inquiries concerning this letter. The Board is publishing this notice for the purposes of: (1) reviewing the application of its rules to private placements of municipal securities and (2) expressing its views concerning whether certain Board rules apply to financial advisory services rendered by municipal securities dealers and brokers to corporate obligors on IDBs.

A. Private Placements of IDBs

The Board’s rules apply, of course, to all transactions in municipal securities, including securities which are IDBs. The SEC letter dealt in particular with the activities of commercial banks. That letter pointed out that if a commercial bank has a registered municipal securities dealer department, under Board rule G-1, which defines the term "separately identifiable department or division of a bank," any private placement activities of the bank in securities which are IDBs must be conducted as a part of the registered dealer department. The Board urges all bank dealers which have registered as a separately identifiable department or division to review their organizations and assure that all departments or units which engage in the private placement of IDBs are designated on the bank’s Form MSD registration and other applicable bank records as part of its separately identifiable department or division. The Board also notes that such activities must be under the supervision of a person designated by the bank’s board of directors as responsible for these activities. In addition, under Board rule G-3, concerning professional qualifications, persons who are engaged in privately placing municipal securities must be qualified as municipal securities representatives and be supervised with respect to that activity by a qualified municipal securities principal.

B. Financial Advisory Services Rendered to Corporate Obligors on IDBs

Board rules G-1 and G-3 provide that rendering "financial advisory or consultant services for issuers" is an activity to which those rules are applicable (emphasis added). Similarly, Board rule G-23, on the activities of financial advisors, applies to brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers who agree to render "financial advisory or consultant services to or on behalf of an issuer" (emphasis added). Clearly these rules are applicable to financial advisory services rendered to state or local governments and their agencies, as well as to municipal corporations. In the Board’s view, however, rules G-1, G-3, and G-23 do not apply to financial advisory services which are provided to corporate obligors in connection with proposed IDB financings.

The Board wishes to emphasize that the scope of its definition of financial advisory services is limited to "advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms, and other similar matters" concerning a proposed issue.[1] If persons providing such advice to the corporate obligor on an IDB issue also participate in negotiations with prospective purchasers or are otherwise engaged in effecting placement of the issue, then, as indicated above, rules G-1 and G-3 would apply to their activities.

[Excerpts of the Commission letter follow:]

This is in response to your letter of December 1, 1981, requesting our views concerning certain activities by commercial banks in connection with industrial development bonds ("IDBs").[2] Specifically, you asked (1) whether the private placement activities of banks in IDBs involve transactions in municipal securities, (2) whether involvement in such activities alone would require such banks to register with the Commission under Section 15B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") as municipal securities dealers, (3) whether a bank that had registered a separately identifiable department or division with the Commission as a municipal securities dealer would be required to conduct such activities through such separately identifiable department or division, and (4) if such bank activities are required to be conducted in the separately identifiable department or division, whether the advisory services provided by those banks to the corporate obligor on an IDB should be regarded as advisory services provided to an issuer of municipal securities in connection with the issuance of municipal securities. Pursuant to your letter and subsequent telephone conversations, we understand the following facts to be typical of the activities in question.

A commercial bank offers private placement and financial advisory services to corporate entities on a regular and continuous basis. From time to time the bank recommends to the corporate entity that IDBs be used to raise capital. The bank advises the corporate entity regarding the terms and timing of the proposed IDB issuance, prepares the Direct Placement Memorandum describing the terms of the IDB, and contacts potential purchasers of the IDB. Such purchasers then make independent reviews of the corporate entity’s financial status. The bank then obtains comments from the potential buyers and relays such comments to the corporate entity. The bank might also assist the corporate entity in subsequent negotiations with the purchasers. An industrial development authority nominally issues the IDB on behalf of the corporate entity which becomes the economic obligor on the issue.

The bank engages in these activities in order to assist the corporate obligor in the sale of the IDBs. In return for its services, the bank receives from the corporate entity either a fixed fee or a percentage of the proceeds of the sale. The bank does not purchase any of the IDBs. The bank could, however, supply "bridge loans" to the corporate entity pending receipt of the proceeds of the IDB sale. In addition, the bank might provide investors with a letter of credit committing the bank to pay any interest or principal not paid by the corporate issuer. The bank might also act as trustee or paying agent for the nominal issuer of the IDB, for which the bank would receive a set fee.

IDBs AS MUNICIPAL SECURITIES

Section 3(a)(10) of the Exchange Act defines a "security" as, among other things, "any note… bond, debenture… investment contract, …or in general, any instrument commonly known as a ‘security’… " Section 3(a)(29) of the Exchange Act defines "municipal securities" to include any security which is an industrial development bond as defined in Section 103(b)(2) of the Code the interest on which is tax-exempt under Sections 103(b)(4) or 103(b)(6) of the Code. In our opinion, the private placement activities you have described involve transactions in municipal securities as defined in the Exchange Act.[3]

REGISTRATION AS MUNICIPAL SECURITIES DEALER

Section 15B(a) of the Exchange Act makes it unlawful for any municipal securities dealer to use the mails or any instrumentality of interstate commerce to "effect any transaction in, or to induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, any municipal security unless such municipal securities dealer is registered" with the Commission. Section 3(a)(30) of the Exchange Act defines "municipal securities dealer" to include a bank or a separately identifiable department or division of a bank if that bank is engaged in the business of buying and selling municipal securities for its own account other than in a fiduciary capacity, through a broker or otherwise. Banks that engage solely in private placement activities in IDBs as described by you would not be required to register as municipal securities dealers since they do not appear to be engaged in the business of buying and selling municipal securities for their own accounts, but rather appear to be acting as brokers. Section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act defines the term broker as "any person engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others, but does not include a bank." Since they are excluded from the definition of broker, banks that act solely as brokers need not register under the Exchange Act.[4]

INCLUSION IN SEPARATELY IDENTIFIABLE DEPARTMENT OR DIVISION

Section 15B(b)(2)(H) of the Exchange Act authorizes the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (the "MSRB") to make rules defining the term "separately identifiable department or division" ("SID") of a bank as used in Section 3(a)(30) of the Exchange Act. MSRB rule G-1 defines the SID as "that unit of the bank which conducts all the activities of the bank relating to the conduct of business as a municipal securities dealer…" The rule defines municipal securities dealer activities to include "sales of municipal securities" and "financial advisory and consultant services for issuers in connection with the issuance of municipal securities." Therefore, those banks that have registered an SID with the Commission also must conduct the private placement activities within the SID in accordance with MSRB rules…

Based upon the facts and representations set forth in your letter, it would appear that the private placement activities of banks involving IDBs, as described in your example, constitute transactions in municipal securities that, if done alone, would not require a bank to register with the Commission as a municipal securities dealer. However, such activities, when conducted by a bank municipal securities dealer that had registered a separately identifiable department or division, would be treated as municipal securities dealer activities and, therefore, would be required to be conducted in the bank’s dealer department…


[1] Rule G-23(b).

[2] You have represented that the IDBs involved would be primarily those defined in Section 103(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (the "Code"), the interest on which is tax-exempt under Sections 103(b)(4) and 103(b)(6) of the Code.

[3]This determination is based on an analysis of the specific facts as described by you. Different facts and circumstances could result in a transaction involving municipal debt instruments being treated as loan participations not subject to the federal securities laws. Such determinations can only be made on a case by case basis after a thorough examination of the context of the transaction.

[4] See letter dated February 17, 1977, from Anne E. Chafer, Attorney, Securities and Exchange Commission, to Bruce F. Golden and letter dated January 11, 1982, from Thomas G. Lovett, Attorney, Securities and Exchange Commission, to Harriet E. Munrett regarding Citytrust of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Municipal Securities Principal: Bank Operations

Municipal securities principal: bank operations. I am writing in response to your letter of April 26, 1983 concerning the results of a recent examination of your bank's municipal securities dealer department by examiners from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In your letter you indicate that the examiners expressed the view that the bank's present organizational structure did not comport with the definition of a "separately identifiable department or division of a bank" set forth in Board rule G-1. You note that the examiners' basis for this conclusion was their belief that the municipal securities processing functions of the bank were not under the supervision of a qualified municipal securities principal. You state that you disagree with the examiners' conclusions, and you request that the Board indicate whether, in its view, the organizational structure through which the bank presently carries on its municipal securities activities is satisfactory for purposes of compliance with Board rules.

As a general matter we would hesitate to disagree with the opinion expressed by on-site examiners in a matter of this sort. The examiners are, of course, in direct contact with the matter in question, and have access to the full details of the situation, rather than an abstraction or summary of the particulars. Accordingly, we are unable to express a view that the examiners' conclusions are incorrect in the circumstances you describe.

With respect to the specific issues which you raise, it is not impossible for a bank to establish a "separately identifiable department or division" for purposes of rule G-1 which includes areas in the bank which, for other purposes (e.g., for general bank organizational and reporting purposes), would be considered separate. To the extent that such areas are engaged in municipal securities dealer activities (as enumerated in rule G-1), however, they must be under the supervision of the person or persons designated by the bank's board of directors, in accordance with rule G-1(a)(1), as responsible for the conduct of such activities.

As you are aware, the person or persons who are responsible for the management and supervision of the day-to-day activities of the municipal securities processing area need not be qualified as municipal securities principals if they do not have policy-making authority with respect to such activities. However, such activities must be subject to the supervision of a municipal securities principal. Therefore, if those directly involved in the day-to-day supervision of the municipal securities processing activities do not have policy-making authority over such activities and, as a consequence, are not qualified as municipal securities principals, a person who is qualified as a municipal securities principal (whether that person designated by the bank's board of directors pursuant to rule G-1(a)(1) or some other person who is subordinate to that person) must be designated as having responsibility for the supervision of the processing activities. The bank's supervisory procedures should appropriately reflect such designation and set forth the manner in which the designated person will carry out these responsibilities. MSRB interpretation of May 13, 1983.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
Publication date:

Municipal Securities Sales Activities in Branch Affiliate and Correspondent Banks Which Are Municipal Securities Dealers

The Board has received several inquiries from banks concerning the activities which may be performed in connection with the marketing of municipal securities through branch, affiliate, and correspondent banks. Rule G-2 of the Board provides that no municipal securities dealer may effect transactions in, or induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of any municipal security, unless the dealer in question and every individual associated with it is qualified in accordance with the rules of the Board. Board rule G-3 establishes qualification requirements for municipal securities representatives and other municipal securities professionals. Board rule G-27 requires supervision of municipal securities activities by qualified municipal securities principals.

Activities of Branch, Affiliate and Correspondent Bank Personnel

Bank employees who are not qualified municipal securities representatives may perform certain limited functions in connection with the marketing of municipal securities. Namely, such persons may:

  • advise customers that municipal securities investment services are available in the bank;

  • make available to customers material concerning municipal securities investments, such as market letters and listings of issues handled by the bank's dealer department, which has been approved for distribution by the dealer department's municipal securities principal; and,

  • establish contact between the customer and the dealer department.

Further sales-related activity would be construed as inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sales of a municipal security, and may only be engaged in by duly-qualified municipal securities representatives.

The Board wishes to emphasize that each bank dealer should take steps to assure that its branch, correspondent, and affiliate bank personnel understand and observe the restrictions outlined above concerning referrals of municipal securities customers to the bank's dealer department.

Placement and Supervision of Municipal Securities Representatives

Bank dealers have also directed inquiries to the federal bank regulators and to the Board concerning whether qualified municipal securities representatives in affiliates or branches of a bank dealer may respond to customer inquiries concerning municipal securities and take customer orders for municipal securities if no municipal securities principal is located in such affiliates or branches. Board rule G-27 places on each broker, dealer, and municipal securities dealer the obligation to supervise the municipal securities activities of its associated persons and the conduct of its municipal securities business. The rule requires that municipal securities dealers designate a municipal securities principal as responsible for the supervision and review of municipal securities transactions and other activities. There is no requirement that a municipal securities principal be located in each office or branch of a municipal securities dealer, provided that adequate supervision of all municipal securities activities can be assured. For purposes of the Board rules, each employee of a branch or affiliate of a bank dealer who communicates with public customers on investment opportunities in municipal securities and who takes customers' orders for such securities would be considered an "associated person" to whom the Board's qualification and supervision requirements would apply.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Municipal Securities Principal: Numerical Requirements

Municipal securities principal: numerical requirements. This is in response to your letter of September 28, 1982 concerning the numerical requirements for municipal securities principals in Board rule G-3 . . . Rule G-3(b)(i)(B)[*] requires that

every municipal securities broker or municipal securities dealer having fewer than eleven persons associated with it in whatever capacity on a full-time or full-time equivalent basis who are engaged in the performance of its municipal securities activities, or, in the case of a bank dealer, in the performance of its municipal securities dealer activities, shall have at least one municipal securities principal.

You inquired as to the meaning of "full-time equivalent basis" in the reference language. This phrase is intended to require the inclusion of individuals who should be considered as full-time employees, but because of some distinctive employment arrangement do not fit the norm of a full-time employee. For example, a municipal securities representative who usually works out of his home which is in a remote location might not fit the firm's norm for "full-time employment" but should nevertheless be counted for purposes of the rule as an associated person.

You also inquired as to whether a bank dealer is required to have only one municipal securities principal even if it has fifteen full-time persons working in the municipal securities business. The provisions of the rule apply equally to securities firms and to bank dealers. Therefore, a bank dealer with eleven or more associated persons "engaged in the performance of its municipal securities dealer activities" is required to have at least two municipal securities principals.

 


 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(b)(iii)(B)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Municipal securities principal

Municipal securities principal. This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of June 10, 1981. In your letter you indicate that the dealer department of [the bank] has recently been inspected by examiners from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and that, during the course of such inspection, the examiners indicated that they believed certain persons should be qualified as municipal securities principals. You indicate your disagreement with the examiners' conclusions, and request an opinion from the Board concerning the need to qualify these personnel.

The two cases you describe are as follows:

(1) Mr. "X", as head of the Operations Division of the bank's Financial Markets Group, is in charge of the operational support services for the bank's securities activities, including the Tax-Exempt Operations Department. The Tax-Exempt Operations Department is under the immediate supervision of yourself. For purposes of bank organizational structure you report to Mr. "X"; however, you also report to the head of the Tax-Exempt Securities Division in connection with "supporting the Tax-Exempt business operation." You are qualified as a municipal securities principal, as is the head of the Tax-Exempt Securities Division; Mr. "X", however, is not. The national bank examiners have expressed the view that he should be.

(2) Two "senior traders" in the Municipal Dealer Department act under the supervision of the department head with regard to the trading and positioning of municipal securities. In connection with these activities they "direct more junior traders" in their municipal securities activities. These persons are not qualified as municipal securities principals; the national bank examiners contend that they should be.

As a general matter we would hesitate to disagree with the opinion expressed by an on-site examiner in a matter of this sort. The examiner is, of course, in direct contact with the matter in question, and has access to the full details of the situation, rather than an abstraction or summary of the particulars. Accordingly, we are unable to express a view that the examiner's conclusions are incorrect in the circumstances you describe.

With respect to the specific situations presented in your letter, it is certainly not impossible to establish a reporting and supervisory structure such that a person who is in charge of the division which includes the operational aspects of a bank's municipal securities dealer department need not be qualified as a municipal securities principal. As is indicated in a Board interpretive notice concerning qualifications matters, qualification as a municipal securities principal is required of a person who supervises a bank dealer's processing and clearance activities with respect to municipal securities only to the extent that such person has policy-making authority over such activities. If such person does not have policy-making authority, or if such person's authority extends to the establishment of general guidelines or an overall framework for activities, with the specific function of making policy within that framework reserved for other persons, then such person would not be deemed to be a municipal securities principal.

Further, it is a not uncommon arrangement to have the policy-making authority with respect to the municipal dealer operations activities of a bank allocated between the immediate supervisor of the municipal operations function and a principal in the dealer department itself. In these circumstances the operation supervisor reports to the principal in connection with the municipal dealer activities, and also reports to other, non-qualified persons in connection with bank organizational requirements.

Therefore, the arrangement which you describe would not necessarily require that Mr. "X" be qualified as a municipal securities principal. Whether he should, in fact, be qualified as a municipal securities principal depends, of course, on the extent to which he does exercise policy-making authority over the municipal dealer operations functions; this is a determination that, we suggest, is most appropriately made by yourselves and the national bank examiners.

In the second situation you describe it appears to us clear that the "senior traders" are functioning as municipal securities principals and should be qualified as such. As you may know, the Board's rule defines the term "municipal securities principal" to include persons "who [are] directly engaged in the . . . direction or supervision of . . . underwriting, trading or sales of municipal securities. . ." Your description of the activities of these "senior traders" indicates that they "direct" other persons in trading activities. This certainly supports the conclusion that they are functioning as municipal securities principals. MSRB interpretation of June 24, 1981.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Persons Engaged in Financial Advisory Activities.

Persons engaged in financial advisory activities. I am writing to confirm our telephone conversation of this afternoon concerning the registration and qualification requirements applicable to persons in your firm's public finance department. In our conversation you inquired whether persons who function as financial advisors to municipal issuers, providing advice to such issuers regarding the structure, timing and terms of new issues of municipal securities to be sold by such issuers, are required to be qualified. As I indicated, such persons are required to be registered and qualified as municipal securities representatives. Furthermore, persons who supervise representatives performing such financial advisory services are required to be registered and qualified as municipal securities principals.

For your information, the provision of financial advisory services to municipal issuers is defined to be a municipal securities representative function in Board rule G-3(a)(iii)(B)[*]. The requirement that persons performing such function be qualified is set forth generally in rules G-2 and G-3, and the specific qualification requirements applicable to such persons are stated in rules G-3(e)[†] and (i)[‡]. MSRB interpretation of June 10, 1982.

 


 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(i)(B)]

[†] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(ii)]

[‡] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(iii)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

"Finders" of Potential Issuers

"Finder" of potential issuers. This responds to your letter of May 14, 1981 requesting our advice concerning the application of the qualification provisions of rule G-3 to a person employed by a municipal securities broker or dealer whose activities are limited solely to acting as a "finder" of potential issuers. Based upon the facts contained in your letter, and assuming that such person is not providing financial advisory or consultant services for issuers, it would appear that he or she is not performing functions, which are enumerated in rule G-3(a), the performance of which would require qualification as a municipal securities principal or a municipal securities representative. MSRB interpretation of June 24, 1981.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
Publication date:

Debriefing of Examination Candidates

Board rule G-3 sets forth standards of qualifications for municipal securities brokers and municipal securities dealers and their associated persons, including examination requirements for municipal securities principals, municipal securities financial and operations principals, municipal securities sales principals, and municipal securities representatives.

In order to assure that its examinations constitute valid tests of the qualifications of persons who take them, the Board has instituted various procedures, in the question writing as well as the administration phases, which are designed to preserve the confidentiality of the examinations. In addition, on one occasion the Board found it necessary to take legal action, alleging copyright violations, against a securities training school which had used in its training material questions and answers that appeared to have been taken from questions contained in Board qualification examinations.

The Board wishes to point out that the practice of "debriefing" persons who have taken a municipal securities qualifications examination (i.e. requesting or encouraging such persons to reveal the contents of the examinations) may not only give rise to an infringement of the Board's copyright but would, if engaged in by members of the municipal securities industry, constitute a violation of the Board's rules. In this regard, rule G-3(g) [*] provides that no person associated with a municipal securities broker or municipal securities dealer shall (i) disclose to any person any question on any municipal securities qualification examination or the answers to any such questions, (ii) engage in any activity inconsistent with the confidential nature of any such qualification examination or its purpose as a test of the qualifications of persons taking such examination, or (iii) knowingly sign a false certification concerning any such qualification examination.

 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(e)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Municipal Securities Representative: Credit Department Employees

Municipal securities representative: credit department employees. This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of October 18, 1979, concerning a proposed arrangement for the performance of municipal credit analysis functions at your bank. In your letter you indicate that the bank wishes to have certain basic statistical and data gathering activities with respect to proposed new issues of municipal securities performed by its Credit Department. The Credit Department will provide the information resulting from these activities to registered personnel in the Investment Department, which will evaluate the credit of the issuer and determine the appropriateness of the issue for the bank's own investment activities and for the bank's customers. You inquire whether the personnel in the Credit Department would be required to register and qualify as municipal securities representatives due to their performance of these activities.

Your question was referred to a committee of the Board which has the responsibility for administering the professional qualifications program on the Board's behalf. The Committee concluded that such persons would not be required to register and qualify as representatives if their functions are limited to information-gathering and performance of basic statistical computations. However, if such persons engage in any type of evaluative activity or if such persons make recommendations or suggest conclusions with respect to the securities, registration and qualification would be required. Further, should these persons produce any documents or research products intended for distribution or for use in the solicitation of customers, they would be required to register and qualify. MSRB interpretation of December 10, 1979.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Clerical or Ministerial Duties

Clerical or ministerial duties. This will acknowledge receipt of your letter in which you request advice concerning whether certain persons employed by [Name deleted] must qualify as municipal securities representatives under rule G-3.

In the case of one of the individuals, you state in your letter that he is responsible for calculating coupon rates for new issue securities, based on information provided to him by persons in [Name deleted] underwriting department. According to your letter, the individual has some discretion to "revise coupon rates to a more marketable figure," but all of his activities are subject to the approval of, and supervised by, municipal securities professionals in the department. We understand that he does not communicate with issuers, customers or other municipal securities dealers.

Based upon the facts set forth in your letter, we are of the view that the individual described performs only clerical or ministerial functions in calculating the coupon scale, and he is therefore not a municipal securities representative within the meaning of rule G-3.

In your letter, you also request advice regarding certain individuals whose only function is to receive telephonic orders for municipal securities from municipal securities dealers. We understand that these individuals do not solicit orders, negotiate prices or the terms of transactions, or transmit offers to prospective purchasers, nor do they communicate at any time with customers. Based upon the facts you have provided, we are of the opinion that these individuals perform only clerical or ministerial functions, and they are therefore also not municipal securities representatives within the meaning of rule G-3. MSRB interpretation of December 8, 1978.

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Municipal securities representative

Municipal securities representative. Your letter dated October 16, 1978, has been referred to me for response. In your letter, you request clarification of whether personnel in your firm will have to take and pass the Board's qualification examination for municipal securities representatives, since they only effect transactions with other municipal securities professionals.

Board rule G-3(a)(iii)[*] defines the term "municipal securities representative" to mean a natural person associated with a municipal securities broker or municipal securities dealer who performs certain specified functions, which include "trading or sales of municipal securities." A person is deemed to be a municipal securities representative under the rule whether he or she engages in such activities with customers or only other municipal securities professionals. Accordingly, personnel in your firm who only trade with, or sell securities to other municipal securities professionals will have to take and pass the examination for municipal securities representatives, unless they are exempted under the provisions of rule G-3(e)(ii)[†]. MSRB interpretation of October 27, 1978.

 


 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(i)]

[†] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(ii)(B)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Letters
Publication date:

Portfolio Credit Analyst

Portfolio credit analyst. This will acknowledge with thanks receipt of your letter dated May 2, 1978 concerning the status of persons occupying the position of portfolio credit analyst at your bank. Your letter, as well as our telephone conversations prior and subsequent to the letter, raise two questions concerning the status of such persons under Board rules. First, are the functions of a portfolio credit analyst subject to the requirements of rule G-1, which defines a separately identifiable dealer department or division of a bank? Second, must a portfolio credit analyst qualify as a municipal securities representative or municipal securities principal under Board rule G-3?

Although we recognize that the primary purpose of the portfolio credit analyst, as set forth in the material you furnished to me, is to review your bank's investment portfolio, a function not subject to Board regulation, to the extent that the analyst provides research advice and analysis in connection with your bank's underwriting, trading or sales activities, the analyst must be included within the municipal securities dealer department for purposes of rule G-1, and is subject to the qualification requirements of rule G-3.

Under Board rule G-1, a separately identifiable department or division of a bank is that unit of the bank which conducts all of the municipal securities dealer activities of the bank. Section (b) of the rule defines municipal securities dealer activities to include research with respect to municipal securities to the extent such research relates to underwriting, trading, sales or financial advisory and consultant services performed by the bank. Thus, we think it clear that for purposes of rule G-1, persons functioning as portfolio credit analysts who render research in connection with underwriting, trading or sales activities at your bank must be included within the separately identifiable department or division of the bank for purposes of rule G-1. This is consistent with the underlying purpose of rule G-1 to assure that all of the functions performed at the bank relating to the business of the bank as a municipal securities dealer are appropriately identified for purposes of supervision, inspection and enforcement.

Under rule G-3(a)(iii)[*] a municipal securities representative is defined as a person associated with a municipal securities broker or municipal securities dealer who performs certain functions similar to those defined as municipal securities dealer activities in rule G-1. The position of portfolio credit analyst as described in your letter and accompanying material appears to fit the definition of municipal securities representative to the extent that persons occupying such position perform research in connection with the bank's underwriting, trading or sales activities. Under rule G-3(e)[†], municipal securities representatives are required to qualify in accordance with Board rules. A similar result would obtain with respect to qualification as a municipal securities principal, if the portfolio credit analyst functions in a supervisory capacity. MSRB interpretation of June 8, 1978.

 


 

[*] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(i)]

[†] [Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(ii)]

Interpretive Guidance - Interpretive Notices
Publication date:

Interpretive Notice on Professional Qualifications

On December 23, 1976, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (the "Board") issued an interpretive notice addressing certain questions received by the Board with respect to its professional qualifications rules (rules G-2 through G-7). Since that time, the Board has received additional questions concerning rule G-3 which are discussed in this interpretive notice.

1. Requirements for Financial and Operations Principals.

Under the rule G-3(b)(ii)[*], every municipal securities broker and municipal securities dealer other than a bank dealer is required to have at least one qualified financial and operations principal. As defined in the rule, this person is responsible for the overall supervision and preparation of financial reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission and self-regulatory organizations and for the processing, clearance, safekeeping and recordkeeping activities of the firm. If more than one person shares these overall supervisory responsibilities, each such person must be qualified as a financial and operations principal.

The question has been asked whether a financial and operations principal whose duties relate solely to financial and operational matters and not, for example, to underwriting, trading, or sales functions must qualify also as a municipal securities principal by passing the Board's municipal securities principal examination when it is prescribed. The Board does not intend to impose such a requirement on persons whose functions are limited to those set forth in the definition of a financial and operations principal.

The question has also been asked whether a person performing only the functions of a financial and operations principal on and after December 1, 1975 would be "grandfathered" as a municipal securities principal for purposes of taking the Board's municipal securities principal examination when prescribed if such person begins supervising underwriting, trading or sales functions. Activities relating to financial and operational matters are substantially different from those relating to underwriting, trading and sales or other categories of activities supervised by municipal securities principals. The Board does not intend, therefore, that financial and operations principals be "grandfathered" for purposes of the Board's examination requirements for municipal securities principals, or that a financial and operations principal would be qualified to engage in such other supervisory activities solely by reason of having met the Board's requirements for financial and operations principals.

The Board has also been asked whether senior officers or general partners of a firm, who may bear ultimate legal responsibility for the financial and operational activities of the firm, must be qualified as financial and operations principals under the Board's rules. Although the answer depends on the particular factual situation, officers or partners not directly involved in the financial and operations affairs of a firm generally would not be required to qualify as financial and operations principals.

2. Activities Requiring Qualification as a Municipal Securities Principal.

The question has been asked whether supervisory personnel in the processing and clearance areas must qualify as the municipal securities principals under rule G-3. In a securities firm, the financial and operations principal ordinarily would be the only person supervising operations-related activities who will be required to pass an examination. With respect to bank dealer supervisory personnel, to whom the financial and operations principal classification does not apply, qualification in a principal capacity in the operations area will not be required unless the person in question exercises policy-making authority. Thus, an individual may supervise a bank dealer's processing activities without qualifying as a municipal securities principal, regardless of the number of persons supervised by such individual, if policy-making functions and discretionary authority are delegated to a higher level.

Somewhat different considerations apply in determining which persons are required to be qualified as municipal securities principals in connection with underwriting, trading, sales or other activities referred to in the Board's rules as municipal securities principal activities. In these areas, the qualification requirements apply to persons having supervisory responsibility with respect to the day-to-day conduct of the activities in question, even though such persons may not have a policy-making role. The Board's conclusions in this regard are based on the fact that in these other areas the supervisory person is responsible for the activities of personnel who communicate directly with issuers, traders, and investors.

3. Activities Requiring Qualification as a Municipal Securities Representative.

In certain cases, communications from customers may be received at a time when a duly qualified municipal securities representative or municipal securities principal is unavailable. Similarly, there may be situations in which it becomes important to advise a customer promptly of transactions effected and orders confirmed, even though the individual responsible for the account may not be able to communicate with the customer at that time.

In many cases under the rules of other self-regulatory organizations, communications of this nature, which in essence reflect a mechanical function, may be received and made by properly supervised competent individuals whose clerical and ministerial functions would not otherwise subject them to qualification requirements. The Board believes the principle underlying this practice and the application of other self-regulatory organizations' qualification rules is sound.

Accordingly, the Board interprets rule G-3 to permit the recording and transmission in customary channels of orders, the reading of approved quotations, and the giving of reports of transactions by non-qualified clerical personnel when the duly qualified municipal securities representative or municipal securities principal who normally handles the account or customer is unavailable. The foregoing interpretation is applicable only to clerical personnel who are: (a) deemed capable and competent by a municipal securities principal or general securities principal to engage in such activities; (b) specifically authorized in writing to perform such functions on an occasional basis as necessary or directed to perform such functions in specific instances, in either case by a duly qualified municipal securities principal or general securities principal; (c) familiar with the normal type and size of transaction effected with or for the customer or the account; and (d) closely supervised by duly qualified municipal personnel.

All orders for municipal securities received by clerical personnel under the foregoing interpretation must be reviewed and approved by duly qualified municipal personnel familiar with the customer or account prior to being accepted or effected by the municipal securities broker or municipal securities dealer. Solicitation of orders by clerical personnel is not permitted. Confirmations of transactions may be given and quotations read by clerical personnel only when approved by duly qualified municipal personnel. Individuals subject to the 90-day apprenticeship requirements of rule G-3(i)[†] are not clerical personnel and are not authorized or permitted to engage in such activities with members of the public.

Also, the question has been raised whether a bank's branch office personnel, who are not otherwise required to be qualified under rule G-3, will be required to take and pass the qualification examination for municipal securities representatives in order to respond to a depositor's inquiry concerning possible investments in municipal securities. Insofar as the branch office personnel merely refer the depositor to qualified bank dealer personnel for discussion concerning the merits of an investment in municipal securities and execution of the depositor's order, the branch office personnel would not be required to be qualified under the Board's professional qualifications requirements. However, if branch office personnel seek to advise the depositor concerning the merits of a possible investment, or otherwise perform more than a purely ministerial function, qualification under the Board's rules would be required.

 


 

[*] [ Currently codified at rule G-3(d)(iii)]

[†] [ Currently codified at rule G-3(a)(iii)]