Final Specifications for the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access System (EMMA) Continuing Disclosure Subscription Service

Click here for the full Notice and all Specifications

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (the “MSRB”) is publishing final specifications for its upcoming subscription service for real-time dissemination of documents and information submitted to the continuing disclosure service of the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access system (“EMMA”).[1]  The EMMA continuing disclosure service will become operational on July 1, 2009.[2]  The MSRB currently operates a pilot phase of the continuing disclosure service.[3]  The continuing disclosure subscription service, which is expected to be available on July 1, 2009,[4] will be a computer-to-computer connection for real-time dissemination to subscribers of continuing disclosure documents and related information posted on EMMA’s public website (the “EMMA web portal”).

WEBINAR ON CONTINUING DISCLOSURE SUBSCRIPTION SPECIFICATIONS

The MSRB will host a webinar, directed at developers, on June 16, 2009 at 2:30 pm ET on system specifications for subscriptions to EMMA’s continuing disclosure service.  The webinar will provide an overview of the computer-to-computer subscription service and explain the system specifications.

The webinar will last approximately one hour. Pre-registration is required and must be completed via the link below. There is no charge to attend.

EMMA Continuing Disclosure Service Subscription Specifications Webinar
June 16, 2009 2:30 ET. To register, click here.

BACKGROUND

The EMMA continuing disclosure subscription service is designed to make all continuing disclosure documents submitted to the EMMA continuing disclosure service, together with its related indexing information, available to subscribers simultaneous with the posting of such documents to the EMMA web portal.  Subscribers to the continuing disclosure subscription service will be required to enter into a subscription agreement with the MSRB and will be subject to the terms and conditions thereof.[5]  The Submission Specifications published simultaneously herewith provide a general background on the nature of submissions to be made to the EMMA continuing disclosure service that will be disseminated through the continuing disclosure subscription service.[6]

SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE CONTINUING DISCLOSURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE

The specifications for the EMMA continuing disclosure subscription service are set forth in this notice, including the figures appended hereto.  These specifications will be republished on the MSRB website (http://www.msrb.org) and the EMMA portal (https://dataport.emma.msrb.org/Home/Index) on or prior to the commencement of operations of the permanent EMMA continuing disclosure service on July 1, 2009.

Web Service Interfaces

The MSRB will expose two web service interfaces to allow subscribers to receive SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) standard XML (extensible markup language) messages and PDF (portable document format) documents using secure, computer-to-computer communications.  These interfaces will be remotely consumed by applications written by or for subscribers in a wide variety of programming languages and running on a wide variety of platforms.  Subscribers to the continuing disclosure subscription service will connect to the web service interfaces as follows:

For data files:  https://services.emma.msrb.org/SubscriptionServices/ContinuingDisclosureSubscriptionService.svc

For document files:  https://services.emma.msrb.org/SubscriptionServices/DocumentRetrievalService.svc

Note that these connections are not currently operational and the MSRB will provide notice when they becomes available.

Beta version of continuing disclosure subscription service.  A beta version of the continuing disclosure subscription service, which serves as a platform for potential subscribers to conduct tests to ensure proper programming and configuration of their applications for receiving the continuing disclosure subscription service, is being made available by the MSRB.  Data and documents available through the beta platform are for test purposes only and are not to be redisseminated or otherwise used by subscribers, other than for purposes of testing programming and configuration of subscription applications.

Access to the beta site will require a separate set-up.  To inquire about the procedures for accessing the beta site, contact the Market Information Department at (703) 797-6668.  The web service interface for the beta continuing disclosure subscription service is as follows:

For beta platform for data files:  https://servicesbeta.emma.msrb.org/SubscriptionServices/ContinuingDisclosureSubscriptionService.svc

For beta platform for document files:  https://servicesbeta.emma.msrb.org/SubscriptionServices/DocumentRetrievalService.svc

Data and Document Feed Process

The continuing disclosure subscription service will provide XML files of data and PDF files of continuing disclosure documents submitted to the EMMA continuing disclosure service through both the EMMA web interface and the automated submission interface.

Data file dissemination.  Publicly disseminated information submitted to EMMA will normally be staged for subscriber access simultaneously with the posting of such publicly disseminated information to the EMMA web portal.  Subscribers will poll the data file subscription web service, at a frequency to be determined by each subscriber, by issuing a data request to receive the next available data from continuing disclosure submissions, based on subscriber-determined parameters.  Due the to the anticipated volume and frequency of submissions, the MSRB recommends polling the subscription service not less frequently than once every 10 minutes and not more frequently than once per minute.

EMMA will bundle into a single XML file data from up to 200 data submissions for transmission to subscribers.  The XML file will include file reference identifiers for each PDF file for use by subscribers in polling the document file subscription web service and in associating them to the related data.  Depending on the subscriber’s polling parameters, subscribers will be able to access information through the continuing disclosure subscription service on an effectively real-time basis.

Document dissemination.  Documents submitted to EMMA normally will be available for subscriber access simultaneously with the posting of such documents to the EMMA web portal.  Subscribers will issue document requests, at a frequency to be determined by each subscriber, to receive any available documents based on the file reference identifiers provided in the XML files disseminated to subscribers.  Each document will be transmitted to subscribers as individual PDF files.  Depending on the subscriber’s parameters for issuing document requests, subscribers will be able to access documents through the continuing disclosure subscription service on an effectively real-time basis, subject to transmission limitations resulting from the potentially large size of some document files and the speed of the subscriber’s connection.

Overview of Message Processing, Schemas and Data Tags

This notice links to a series of figures and tables providing more detailed information about the continuing disclosure subscription service.  A message processing overview is included in Figure 1.  An XML data schema and a type definition schema are included in Figure 2.  A data tag glossary is provided in Figure 3.[7]

Data Message

Data elements to be disseminated through the continuing disclosure subscription service will be organized in a hierarchical relationship into the following categories:  (i) subscriber data; (ii) submission data; (iii) disclosure indexing data; (iv) contact information data; and (v) document data.  These categories, and the available data tags applicable to each category, are included in Figure 3 and are also summarized below:

• subscriber data –
  • (i) submission transaction count (indicates number of submissions in data message)
  • (ii) replay date (if data replay requested by subscriber, indicates period of data replay)
• submission data –
  • (i) submission identifier (uniquely identifies submission being disseminated)
  • (ii) submission transaction date and time (indicates EMMA posting date and time)
• disclosure indexing data –
  • (i) disclosure type (financial/operating filing, event filing, disclosure without indexing information for pre-July 1, 2009 undertaking)
  • (ii) financial/operating disclosure category (as applicable – annual financial information/operating data under Rule 15c2-12; audited financial statements or CAFR under Rule 15c2-12; failure to provide annual financial information as required under Rule 15c2-12;quarterly/monthly financial information; change in fiscal year/timing of annual disclosure; change in accounting standard; interim/additional financial information/operating data; budget; investment/debt/financial policy; information provided to rating agency, credit/liquidity provider or other third party; consultant reports; other voluntary financial/operating data)
  • (iii) event disclosure category (as applicable – principal and interest payment delinquency; non-payment related default; unscheduled draw on debt service reserve reflecting financial difficulties; unscheduled draw on credit enhancement reflecting financial difficulties; substitution of credit or liquidity provider or its failure to perform; adverse tax opinion or event affecting the tax-exempt status of the security; modification to the rights of security holders; bond call; defeasance; release, substitution or sale of property securing repayment of the security; rating change; amendment to continuing disclosure undertaking; change in obligated person; notice to investors pursuant to bond documents; communication from the Internal Revenue Service; tender offer/secondary market purchases; bid for auction rate or other securities; capital or other financing plan; litigation or enforcement action; merger, consolidation, reorganization, insolvency or bankruptcy; change of trustee, tender agent, remarketing agent, or other on-going party; derivative or other similar transaction; other voluntary event-based disclosure)
  • (iv) other voluntary disclosure description (for other voluntary financial/operating data or other voluntary event-based disclosures)
  • (v) financial/operating period type (for financial/operating disclosure – year ended, quarter ended, month beginning, other period beginning, as of)
  • (vi) financial/operating disclosure date (for financial/operating disclosure, date of financial/operating period type)
  • (vii) financial/operating disclosure second date (for financial/operating disclosure, end date of financial/operating period type if ‘other period beginning’ selected)
  • (viii) event disclosure date (for event disclosure – date of document if different from date document submitted to EMMA)
  • (ix) CUSIP-6 securities pointer (six-digit CUSIP number(s) – disclosure applicable to all nine-digit CUSIP numbers beginning with this six digits)
  • (x) securities (nine-digit CUSIP number(s) to which disclosure is applicable)
• contact information data –
  • (i) contact organization type (issuer, obligated person, submitter)
  • (ii) contact organization name
  • (iii) contact first name
  • (iv) contact last name
  • (v) contact title
  • (vi) contact phone number
  • (vii) contact phone number extension
  • (viii) contact address
  • (ix) contact city
  • (x) contact state
  • (xi) contact zip code
  • (xii) contact e-mail address
• document data –
  • (i) document identifier (uniquely identifies submission being disseminated)
  • (ii) document posting date (date first file of document posted to public on EMMA)
  • (iii) document posting operation indicator (if document modifies a previously submitted document – append to posted document, replace posted document)

Examples of XML files disseminating data submissions for various types of continuing disclosures are included in Figure 4.

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Questions may be directed to the MSRB’s Market Information Department at (703) 797-6668.

June 11, 2009

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INDEX OF FIGURES

1 –          Message Processing Overview
2 –          Data Message & Type Definition Schema
3 –          Data Tag Glossary
4 –          Sample XML Files