June
5-Municipal Finance – F52
SEC
Self-Reporting Initiative for Issuers and Other Significant Recent Disclosure
Actions: Decisions for Municipal Lawyers
** This
webinar will be 75 minutes
Speakers: Robert Doty, Mark Zehner, Peter Chan, Barbara
Adams, John McNally, and Jim Burr
Recently, the Securities and
Exchange Commission has become more assertive regarding municipal issuer
continuing disclosure. The Commission is concerned about persistent reports of
substantial non-compliance by issuers with their continuing disclosure
agreements. In 2013, the SEC announced a number of enforcement actions. In
March 2014, the SEC publicized a new initiative “to encourage issuers and
underwriters of municipal securities to self-report certain violations … rather
than wait for their violations to be detected.” The Commission stated that,
under the “Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative,
the Enforcement Division will recommend standardized, favorable settlement
terms to municipal issuers and underwriters who self-report” by September 10,
2014 “that they have made inaccurate statements in bond offerings about their
prior compliance with continuing disclosure obligations.” The Commission added,
“Those who do not self-report and instead decide to take their chances can
expect to face increased sanctions for violations.” The Initiative creates
circumstances in which certain issuers and their counsel must consider whether
to self-report potential violations.
This webinar will consider the SEC’s Initiative,
as well as recent enforcement actions, with SEC enforcement staff, bond counsel
and an issuer official