The MSRB announced the release of a new education resource intended to provide an introduction to LIBOR and its relevance for the municipal market. It further provides guidance for state and local governments seeking to evaluate transactions with structures based on LIBOR. Lofchie Comment: For the litigation questions, go to page 3. View report in full here (links externally to MSRB website).

The MSRB announced the availability of a new educational resource to help investors and state and local governments understand the use of municipal market indices, yield curves, and benchmarks. View report in full here (links externally to MSRB website).

The SEC charged Goldman Sachs and one of its former investment bankers with the first ever SEC enforcement action for "pay-to-play" violations involving "in-kind" non-cash contributions to a political campaign - resulting from undisclosed campaign contributions to then-Massachusetts state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill while he was a candidate for governor. Pay-to-play schemes involve campaign contributions or other payments made in an attempt to influence the awarding of public contracts for securities underwriting business. View press release here (links externally to SEC website). See also

MFA issued a statement in response to ESMA's publication of its final technical standards for regulation of OTC derivatives, central counterparties, and trade repositories. View statement here (links externally to MFA website). See also: ESMA final technical standards here; MFA comment letters in response to the draft technical standards available here and here.

CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O'Malia made a speech discussing his observations on U.S. efforts to regulate derivatives markets. Commissioner O'Malia believes that the CFTC, in a rush to promulgate the rules, has lost sight of the statutory goals of Dodd-Frank and has disregarded the Congressional mandate to preserve end-users' business. O'Malia states that this has led to the CTC's adoption of rules that are unclear, inconsistent and harmful to U.S. businesses. Further, O'Malia argues that imposition of (what he believes are) unnecessary regulations on end-users will create more economic