Bill on Bankruptcy: Stockton May Win the Battle, Lose the War
SEC to Charter Schools: Avoid these risks when you engage your financing team - If you’ve financed a school facility – or you’re thinking about it – the SEC is watching (out for) you and the financing team you hire. They’ve...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled an administrative proceeding against Hamlin Capital Advisors, LLC and its managing director on Oct. 24, 2024, for failing to timely and fully disclose material conflicts of...more
SEC’s View of Disclosure Obligations Over the last fifteen years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has increased its focus on inadequate disclosure relating to governmental debt issues. Although municipal bond...more
A bond issue (a debt obligation of a local government) is often perceived as a mystery for many Pennsylvania local government officials and solicitors. The securities and tax regulations governing municipal bonds have grown...more
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) is implementing changes to login accounts for its Electronic Municipal Market Access System (“EMMA”) that may affect issuers and other obligors making continuing disclosure...more
Given the increasing SEC scrutiny on disclosure practices in municipal finance, governmental issuers and conduit borrowers [e.g., 501(c)(3) corporations] are taking a fresh look at their disclosure policies and procedures,...more
As is widely known, the new issue market slowed down in 2022 due to a variety of factors, including rising interest rates, reduced institutional demand resulting from municipal bond fund outflows, inflation and recession...more
On September 13, 2022 the Securities and Exchange Commission filed litigation against four separate municipal securities underwriters for failing to comply with municipal bond offering disclosure requirements. The four firms...more
Summary - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced enforcement proceedings against four municipal market underwriters for alleged violations of municipal bond disclosure requirements. Three of the...more
Summary - Two pending proposals could significantly affect how mutual and other funds approach their ESG investments in municipal bonds. If adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the proposals could result in...more
One of the primary purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is to ensure that the investing public obtains accurate, timely and comprehensive information with respect to publicly-traded securities. The...more
Governmental entities have increasingly experienced cybersecurity incidents impacting their operations and finances over the last few years, with some breaches costing upwards of $40 million. Many issuers and borrowers of...more
The topics of Cybersecurity and Climate Change disclosure are generating increased investor and rating agency interest in municipal bond issuances. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed concerns about the...more
In order to make an informed investment decision as to the purchase of municipal bonds, the latest trend is for investors to evaluate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors relative to the bond issuers in...more
The fourth quarter of calendar year 2020 continued trends evidenced in the third quarter of the year, although far fewer cases were initiated. There were actions brought in a number of key areas such as offering fraud cases,...more
A recent report from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission encourages financial regulators to consider the risks climate change poses to the US financial system and includes recommendations for addressing these risks....more
Our thoughts are with you, your loved ones and organizations as we all navigate this public health crisis together. We are providing this alert to our public finance clients and other professionals regarding COVID-19 and its...more
Disclosure to municipal bond investors of material risks stemming from the coronavirus outbreak presents a serious concern in the municipal securities industry. This is particularly true in certain sectors, including bonds...more
Federal Banking Agencies Expand Eligibility to Use Streamlined Call Reports - The federal banking agencies have adopted a final rule to reduce regulatory reporting requirements for certain banks with total assets of less...more
Introduction - Over the past several years, local government issuers have increasingly been privately placing bonds and other municipal debt obligations directly with banks or other purchasers rather than utilizing an...more
Orrick has published a Second Edition of our booklet titled "Disclosure Obligations of Issuers of Municipal Securities." In addition to updating for certain new S.E.C. Rules, the Second Edition contains a new chapter...more
On September 26-28 the National Association of Bond Lawyers held an annual gathering called the Bond Attorneys' Workshop, which consisted of a series of subject-specific meetings discussing topics in municipal finance. Most...more
On August 20, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued Release No. 34-83885 (the “Release”) adding two new events (the “New Events”) to the list of events that must be included in the continuing disclosure...more
On August 20, in response to the recent trend of issuers and obligated persons increasingly using direct purchases of municipal securities and direct loans (“bank placements”) as alternatives to public offerings, the...more
On August 15, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") created new disclosure obligations for borrowers that issue debt through the municipal bond market. ...more