Document ID: SEC-2010-0797-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes: Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
Posted Date: 2010-06-02T04:00Z

[Federal Register: June 2, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 105)]
[Notices]               
[Page 30892-30893]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02jn10-144]                         

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-62175; File No. SR-MSRB-2010-03]

 
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Municipal Securities Rulemaking 
Board; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Amendments 
to the Continuing Disclosure Service of the MSRB's Electronic Municipal 
Market Access System (EMMA[reg])

May 26, 2010.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Exchange Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is 
hereby given that on May 20, 2010, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking 
Board (the ``MSRB'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, 
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the MSRB. The 
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the 
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The MSRB has filed with the Commission a proposed rule change to 
amend the continuing disclosure service of the MSRB's Electronic 
Municipal Market Access system (``EMMA'') to provide for the posting of 
credit rating information on the EMMA public Web site. The MSRB has 
requested an effective date for the proposed rule change of a date to 
be announced by the MSRB in a notice published on the MSRB Web site, 
which date shall be no later than nine months after Commission approval 
of the proposed rule change and shall be announced no later than five 
(5) business days prior to the effective date.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the MSRB's Web 
site at http://www.msrb.org/msrb1/sec.asp, at the MSRB's principal 
office, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the MSRB included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change. The 
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in 
Item IV below. The MSRB has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections 
A, B and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The proposed rule change would amend the EMMA continuing disclosure 
service to provide for the posting of credit rating information on the 
EMMA public Web site. If and to the extent that one or more Nationally 
Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (``NRSRO'') has agreed to 
provide credit rating and related information regarding municipal 
securities to the MSRB, at no charge, through an automated data feed 
for dissemination on the EMMA Web site, the EMMA Web site would display 
such credit rating and related information along with any documents and 
identifying information relating to the applicable municipal security 
otherwise displayed on the EMMA Web site. Currently, such other 
documents or information may include official statements, advance 
refunding documents, continuing disclosure documents, transaction price 
data, interest rate reset information, and identifying information 
relating to a specific municipal security.
    Credit rating and related information normally will be posted 
within 15 minutes of successful transmission to the MSRB during the 
hours of 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on an MSRB business day, and 
any such information successfully transmitted outside of the MSRB's 
normal business hours will be posted as soon as practicable. The MSRB 
shall have no obligation to supplement, modify or confirm credit rating 
and related information received by it through an NRSRO's automated 
data feed based on information available from any other source, 
including but not limited to any such information made publicly 
available by an NRSRO by any means other than its automated data feed.
    The MSRB requests an effective date for the proposed rule change of 
a date to be announced by the MSRB in a notice published on the MSRB 
Web site, which date shall be no later than nine months after 
Commission approval of the proposed rule change and shall be announced 
no later than five (5) business days prior to the effective date.
2. Statutory Basis
    The MSRB has adopted the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 
15B(b)(2)(C) of the Exchange Act, which provides that MSRB's rules 
shall:

be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and 
practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to 
foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in 
regulating, clearing, settling, processing information with respect 
to, and facilitating transactions in municipal securities, to remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market 
in municipal securities, and, in general, to protect investors and 
the public interest.

    The inclusion of credit rating and related information provided by 
NRSROs agreeing to provide such information for display on the EMMA Web 
site would serve to promote the statutory mandate of the MSRB to 
protect investors and the public interest. Although credit rating 
information is just one of many factors to consider in making an 
investment decision and in evaluating the credit worthiness and value 
of existing municipal securities holdings, the proposed rule change 
would make such information more easily accessible on an equal basis to 
all participants in the municipal securities market, including in 
particular retail investors in municipal securities who do not normally 
have access to information services customarily used by professional 
market participants.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The MSRB does not believe the proposed rule change will impose any 
burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of 
the purposes of the Exchange Act. Credit ratings and related 
information provided on the EMMA Web page would be available to all 
persons simultaneously. Any credit rating and related information of an 
NRSRO would be displayed on the EMMA Web site only with the agreement 
of such NRSRO to such use of its information. The MSRB believes that 
the benefits realized by the investing public from the broader and 
easier availability of credit rating and related information provided 
by NRSROs, including in particular retail investors in municipal 
securities who do not normally have access to information services 
customarily used

[[Page 30893]]

by professional market participants, would justify any potentially 
negative impact on such existing information services from the display 
of credit rating and related information on the EMMA Web site.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received on the 
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    Within 35 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve the proposed rule change, or
    (B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be disapproved.

The MSRB has requested an effective date for the proposed rule change 
of a date to be announced by the MSRB in a notice published on the MSRB 
Web site, which date shall be no later than nine months after 
Commission approval of the proposed rule change and shall be announced 
no later than five (5) business days prior to the effective date.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://
www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-MSRB-2010-03 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-MSRB-2010-03. This 
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. 
To help the Commission process and review your comments more 
efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all 
comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, 
all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that 
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating 
to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, 
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance 
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection 
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours 
of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the MSRB. All 
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does 
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-MSRB-2010-03 and should be 
submitted on or before June 23, 2010.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\3\
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    \3\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-13159 Filed 6-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P