MSRB Expands Online Toolkit for State and Local Governments

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today added a number of key resources to its online "toolkit" of educational materials for state and local governments to help them improve their understanding of the municipal securities market.

“These new additions to the MSRB’s toolkit give state and local governments access to free online tools and resources to better evaluate their municipal financing options.”

The MSRB’s State and Local Government Toolkit now includes an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the many financial professionals involved in municipal bond transactions, a tool for tracking trading activity of municipal bonds in the secondary market and information on key market regulations, among other resources. The MSRB launched the toolkit last year with a series of videos, fact sheets and guides about the process of issuing municipal bonds and using the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website.

The centerpiece of the expanded toolkit is the EMMA® Trade Monitor, a new tool that enables state and local governments to export trade data from the EMMA website to a desktop application for analysis of secondary market bond trading activity. State and local governments can use the downloaded data to analyze the prices, yield and amount of secondary market trade activity of municipal bonds in support of, among other things, evaluating pricing for their new issues.

“The MSRB is committed to providing state and local governments with the information they need to make appropriate financing decisions for their communities,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly. “These new additions to the MSRB’s toolkit give state and local governments access to free online tools and resources to better evaluate their municipal financing options.”

Materials in the expanded toolkit include:

• EMMA Trade Monitor Fact Sheet
• Roles and Responsibilities of the Financing Team
• MSRB Rules: Essentials for Issuers
• What to Expect From Your Underwriter
• SEC Rule 15c2-12 Continuing Disclosure Fact Sheet
• Posting Preliminary Official Statements on the EMMA Website
• Posting URLs to the EMMA Website

The MSRB, whose mission includes protecting state and local governments in their municipal finance transactions, also provides educational resources for investors in municipal securities.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) protects investors, issuers of municipal securities and entities whose credit stands behind municipal securities, and public pension plans by promoting a fair and efficient municipal market. The MSRB fulfills this mission by regulating securities firms, banks and municipal advisors that engage in municipal securities and advisory activities. To further protect market participants, the MSRB promotes disclosure and market transparency through its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website, provides education and conducts extensive outreach. The MSRB has operated under Congressional mandate with oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission since 1975.