The MSRB requested feedback on draft interpretive guidance regarding the application of MSRB rules, and previous interpretive guidance for specific prearranged trading in connection with primary offerings of municipal securities. According to the MSRB, the draft interpretive guidance is intended to: remind broker-dealers of existing requirements under MSRB Rule G-11 and Rule G-17; and demonstrate the ways in which MSBR rules apply to broker-dealers participating in certain prearranged trading related to primary offerings. The MSRB stated that the interpretive guidance is not intended to

Federal Reserve Board ("FRB") economists concluded that increased levels of capital and higher capital buffers "may actually spur lending across loan categories." In an FRB staff working paper, the economists stated that the equity and cash that banks have added in order to satisfy post-crisis standards have given the banks resources to take more lending risks. The economists found that the "capital gap does not restrict bank lending," but may boost it. The economists said that the findings indicate that the "higher capital implied by the supervisory stress test . . . makes banks safer and

The Federal Reserve Board's ("FRB") "clean holding company" requirements - which apply to the eight U.S. globally systemically important banks and the U.S. intermediate holding companies of the largest foreign banks operating in the United States - became effective on January 1, 2019. The requirements are applicable only to the legal entity that is the top-tier U.S. holding company and do not apply to its affiliates or subsidiaries. According to the final rule adopted by the FRB, covered holding companies generally are barred from: issuing guarantees of a subsidiary's liabilities with cross

The MSRB highlighted significant regulatory and strategic initiatives the agency undertook in 2018. In its 2018 Annual Report, the MSRB highlighted steps it took to ensure a "fair and efficient municipal securities market." The MSRB: implemented investor protection policies that require dealers to disclose information regarding compensation for certain transactions; implemented a "mark-up disclosure regime" consistent with other fixed-income markets to permit a more "uniform compliance approach and provide clarity for investors"; produced various educational materials and provided dealers with

For the 45th anniversary of President Nixon's signing of the "Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act," enjoy some of these hits. Just keep it under 55.