MSRB report confirms issuers lag with their audited financials

In its first report since 2017 on municipal issuer disclosure, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board found that the average audit time has risen slightly since 2018 to 209 days, its highest on record. Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at Hilltop Securities, told the Bond Buyer that despite the incremental rise, the trend so far has had no market impact.

From politics to disclosure to funding, the changing climate challenges muni issuers. Learn more in our Climate Spotlight 2024 package.

City council members in Washington want to tax interest on out-of-district municipal bonds as a revenue-raising measure, though its path forward is far from certain. The District of Columbia’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, said she remains opposed to further tax hikes including the removal of the out-of-district muni tax exemption.

Nominations are open until Friday, May 31, for the next class of Bond Buyer Rising Stars and the third class of Muni Hall of Famers.

Cabrera Capital Markets has hired ex-Citi banker Tom Rasmussen as a managing director to head municipal sales, trading and underwriting as it climbs up the rankings. Rasmussen, who worked at Citi for more than 33 years running and forming teams, said he couldn't say no to the opportunity to run Cabrera's municipal trading and sales team with an eye to continued expansion.

Watch what the municipal bond industry’s innovators and influencers are saying in our Leaders series of video interviews. Check out our lineup of future live interviews and archived conversations.

A pair of top congressional Republicans Wednesday opened an investigation into the Biden administration's allocation of billions of federal dollars to California's ambitious and pricey high-speed train project.

Read the newest research from The Bond Buyer detailing the public finance industry’s views of the risks and opportunities in 2024.

Municipals were little changed to a touch softer Thursday and mutual funds saw small outflows, setting the month to end with losses. Despite losses, munis are "being set up nicely" as the summer season approaches, said Jeff Lipton, a research analyst and market strategist.

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