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Print articleSEC MCDC Enforcement Initiative Update: SEC Announces Final Actions against Municipal Bond Underwriters and Beginning of an Issuer Sweep
February, 2016 - Kit Addleman , Sarah Mallett
In a third and final round of settlements with underwriters, the SEC announced on February 2, 2016 enforcement actions against 14 firms for alleged misstatements and omissions in municipal bond offerings. With this latest wave of settlements, brought under the SEC’s Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative, the SEC has instituted actions against a staggering 72 underwriters – comprising approximately 96 percent of the market share for municipal underwritings – in eight short months with payments totaling more than $17 million.
The SEC’s press release also announced that the Initiative was continuing as to municipal debt issuers. Only a few days later, the Government Finance Officers Association issued an alert warning that the SEC’s Enforcement Division had begun contacting municipal issuers that participated in the Initiative regarding potential resolution. Issuers and their legal staff should prepare for and be responsive to those SEC calls.
To read the full alert, click here.
