SEC Adopts Amendments To Rule 15c2-12, Municipal Securities Disclosure
| SUGGESTED ROUTING |
Senior Management
|
Executive Summary
On November 10, 1994, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 15c2-12 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act) that prohibit broker/dealers from underwriting and recommending municipal securities for which adequate information is not available. The amendments will improve disclosure in the primary and secondary markets.
These changes are effective July 3, 1995, except for the requirements concerning recommendations in Paragraph 15c2-12(c), which are effective January 1, 1996. Subparagraphs 15c2-12(b)(5)(i)(A) and 15c2-12(b)(5)(i)(B) will not apply with respect to fiscal years ending before January 1, 1996; and Subparagraphs 15c2-12(d)(2)(ii) and 15c2-12(d)(2)(iii) will not apply to an offering of municipal securities commencing before January 1, 1996.
Background
SEC Rule 15c2-12, which was adopted in 1989, requires an underwriter of municipal securities:
- to obtain and review an issuer's official statement before making a purchase, offer, or sale;
- in negotiated sales, to provide the most recent preliminary official statement to potential customers;
- to deliver to customers, upon request, copies of the final official statement for a specified period of time; and
- to contract to receive sufficient copies of the final official statement to comply with the rule's delivery requirements and any Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules.
In September 1993, the SEC Division of Market Regulation staff reported to Congress on several aspects of the municipal securities market. One of the topics discussed was the disclosure requirements of various market participants.
According to the SEC report, investors need sufficient current information about issuers to protect themselves from fraud and manipulation, to evaluate offering prices, to decide which municipal securities to buy, and to decide when to sell. In addition, the report found that, with the growing number of individual investors purchasing municipal securities, the need for sound recommendations by broker/dealers is assuming even greater importance.
As a result of these findings, in March 1994, the SEC issued an interpretative statement regarding disclosure and, in a companion release in the Federal Register, proposed amendments to existing Rule 15c2-12.
SEC Interpretative Statement
The interpretative statement focuses largely on the disclosure obligations of municipal securities issuers. While disclosure by municipal issuers has improved significantly over the last two decades for primary offerings, the SEC notes that concerns still exist. The statement also notes that secondary market disclosure practices present greater concerns.
Regarding the obligations of municipal securities broker/dealers, the statement reaffirms earlier interpretations expressed by the SEC. According to the SEC, underwriters must have a reasonable basis for recommending any securities and, in fulfilling that obligation, they must review the accuracy of statements made in connection with the offering.
The SEC also emphasizes the responsibilities of broker/dealers trading securities in the secondary market. Unlike an underwriter, a broker/dealer ordinarily is not obligated to contact the issuer to verify information. However, if a broker/dealer discovers any factors that indicate the disclosure is inaccurate or incomplete, or signal the need for further inquiry, a broker/dealer may need to obtain additional information, or seek to verify existing information.
Proposing Release
Municipal securities broker/dealers are the link between the issuers whose securities they sell and the investors to whom they recommend securities, therefore the amendments to Rule 15c2-12 were proposed to enhance the disclosure that is available to investors by placing additional requirements on the broker/dealers.
In response to its release, the SEC received comments from all segments of the municipal securities market, including issuers, underwriters, investors, analysts, and financial advisers. The SEC determined to adopt the proposed amendments with certain modifications.
Rule 15c2-12 Amendments
Underwriting Requirements
A municipal securities broker/dealer (referred to as a participating underwriter when used in connection with an offering) is prohibited from purchasing or selling municipal securities in an offering without making a reasonable determination that the issuer, or an obligated person for whom financial or operating data is presented in the final official statement, has undertaken in a written agreement or contract to provide:
- annual financial information for obligated persons to each nationally recognized municipal securities information repository (NRMSIR) and to any appropriate state information depository;
- audited financial statements for each obligated person, when available, if not submitted as part of the annual financial information, to each NRMSIR and to any appropriate state information depository;
- timely notice of these events, if material, to each NRMSIR or to the MSRB, and to any appropriate state information depository:
- principal and interest payment delinquencies;
- non-payment related defaults;
- unscheduled draws on debt service reserves reflecting financial difficulties;
- unscheduled draws on credit enhancements reflecting financial difficulties;
- substitution of credit or liquidity providers, or their failure to perform;
- adverse tax opinions or events affecting the tax-exempt status of the security;
- modifications to rights of security holders;
- bond calls;
- defeasances;
- release, substitution, or sale of property securing repayment of the securities;
- rating changes; and
- timely notice of a failure of any obligated person to provide required annual financial information on or before the date specified in the written agreement or contract, to each NRMSIR or the MSRB, and to any appropriate state information depository.
Written Agreement
The written agreement or contract must identify each person for whom annual financial information and notices of material events will be provided, by name or by the objective criteria used to select such persons and must specify:
- the type of financial information and operating data to be provided as part of annual financial information;
- the accounting principles used to prepare the financial statements and whether the statements will be audited; and
- the date on which the annual financial information for the preceding fiscal year will be provided, and to whom it will be provided.
The written agreement/contract may state that the continuing obligation to provide annual financial information and notices of events may be terminated for any obligated person when that person ceases to be an obligated person with respect to those municipal securities.
Amendments Regarding Recommendations
The paragraph concerning the requirements imposed on broker/dealers recommending the purchase or sale of a municipal security has been modified. Rather than requiring the broker/dealer to review the issuer's information (as stated in the proposing release), the final rule amendments require the broker/dealer to have procedures in place that provide reasonable assurance that it will receive prompt notice of any material event disclosed pursuant to Subparagraph (b)(5)(i)(C) for secondary sales and Subparagraph (d)(2)(ii)(B) for primary offerings, and notice of a failure to provide annual financial information by the specified date [Subparagraph (b)(5)(i)(D)].
Even though the amendments do not require broker/dealers to review directly an issuer's ongoing disclosure before making a purchase/sale recommendation, the SEC expects that broker/dealers will take into consideration the additional information made available by issuers in making determinations as required by MSRB rules concerning fair dealing and suitability and by the anti-fraud provisions of federal securities laws.
Exemptions
The final amendments adopt, with modifications, the two exemptions contained in the proposing release and an additional third new exemption for short-term securities. Consistent with other provisions of Rule 15c2-12, the amendments only apply to primary offerings of municipal securities with an aggregate principal amount of $1,000,000 or more.
Exemption For Offerings With Limited Number Of Purchasers
Primary offerings in authorized denominations of $100,000 or more are exempt if such securities:
- are sold to no more than 35 persons, whom the participating underwriter reasonably believes have the knowledge and experience to evaluate the risks of the investment and who are not purchasing for more than one account or plan to distribute the securities;
- have a maturity of nine months or less; and
- may be tendered (at the holder's option) for redemption at least as frequently as every nine months until maturity or earlier redemption.
Small-Issuer Exemption
Primary offerings may be exempt if, at such time as an issuer delivers the securities to the participating underwriters:
- no obligated person is responsible for more than $10,000,000 in aggregate amount of outstanding municipal securities, including the offered securities but excluding other offerings exempt under the limited number of purchasers section;
- an issuer or obligated person has undertaken in a written agreement or contract to provide:
- at least annually to the appropriate state repository, any financial information or operating data, that is publicly available, regarding each obligated person noted in the final official statement; and
- timely notice of material events as specified in Subparagraph (b)(5)(i)(C) to each NRMSIR or the MSRB and to the appropriate state information depository; and
- the final official statement identifies by name, address, and telephone number the persons from which the foregoing information, data, and notices can be obtained.
Short-Term Maturity Exemption
Offerings with a stated maturity of 18 months or less are exempt from the requirements with respect to providing the annual financial information. However, the provisions of the Rule relating to notices of material events apply to these offerings, absent another exemption.
Exemption From The Recommendation Prohibition
The Rule allows broker/dealers to make recommendations in the secondary market of securities that were not subject to the underwriting prohibition. The Rule further provides that securities sold in an offering that is subject to the limited number of purchasers exemption are not exempt from the recommendation prohibition.
Transitional Provision
The Rule contains a transitional provision for the newly adopted amendments to Rule 15c2-12. The underwriting prohibition applies to a participating underwriter that contractually commits to act as an underwriter on or after July 3, 1995; however, issuers need not provide annual financial information for fiscal years ending before January 1, 1996.
The recommendation prohibition becomes effective on January 1, 1996, and broker/dealers must have procedures in place to comply with this prohibition by that time. The limited undertaking condition to the small issuer exemption is not applicable to offerings commencing before January 1, 1996.
* * *
A copy of the SEC release adopting the final amendments follows this Notice. NASD members that conduct a municipal securities business are urged to review it in its entirety. The supplementary information section of the release contains a detailed discussion concerning new provisions of the Rule and details concerning information repositories.
Questions concerning the Notice may be directed to Erin Gilligan, District Coordinator, Compliance Department, at (202) 728-8946.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
17 CFR Part 240
[Release No. 34–34961; File No. S7–5-94]
RIN 3235-AG13
Municipal Securities Disclosure
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange
Commission.
ACTION: Final Rule.
SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") is adopting amendments to Rule 15c2–12 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") to deter fraud and manipulation in the municipal securities market by prohibiting the underwriting and subsequent recommendation of securities for which adequate information is not available. The amendments prohibit a broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer ("Participating Underwriter") from purchasing-or selling municipal securities unless the Participating Underwriter has reasonably determined that an issuer of municipal securities or an obligated person has undertaken in a written agreement or contract for the benefit of holders of such securities to provide certain annual financial information and event notices to various information repositories; and prohibit a broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer from recommending the purchase or sale of a municipal security unless it has procedures in place that provide reasonable assurance that it will receive promptly any event notices with respect to that security.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective on July 3, 1995 except for § 240.15c2–12(c) which is effective on January 1, 1996.
Compliance Date: Sections 240.15C2–12(b)(5)(i)(A) and 240.15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(B) shall not apply with respect to fiscal years ending prior to January 1, 1996; and §§ 240.15c2–12(d)(2)(ii) and 240.15c2–12(d)(2)(iii) shall not apply to an Offering of municipal securities commencing prior to January 1, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine McGuire, Chief Counsel, Janet W. Russell-Hunter, Attorney, or Paula R. Jenson, Senior Counsel (concerning the rule and release generally), (202) 942–0073, Office of Chief Counsel, Division of Market Regulation, Mail Stop 7–10; Gautam S. Gujral, Attorney (concerning information repositories) (202) 942–0175, Office of Market Supervision, Division of Market Regulation, Mail Stop 5–1, and David A. Sirignano, Senior Legal Adviser to the Director (202) 942–2870, or Amy Meltzer Starr, Attorney (concerning annual financial information, obligated persons, and material events generally), (202) 942–1875, Division of Corporation Finance, Mail Stop 7–6 Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Commission has long been concerned with disclosure in both the primary and secondary markets for municipal securities.1 As part of the Securities Acts Amendments of 1975, Congress established a limited regulatory scheme for the municipal securities market. This limited regulatory scheme included mandatory registration of municipal securities brokers and dealers, and the creation of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board ("MSRB"). In 1989, acting in response to consistently slow dissemination of information in connection with primary offerings of municipal securities, the Commission, pursuant to its authority under Exchange Act Section 15(c)(2),2 adopted Rule 15c2–12 3 and an accompanying interpretation concerning the due diligence obligations of underwriters of municipal securities.4 In 1993, the Commission's Division of Market Regulation conducted a comprehensive review of many aspects of the municipal securities market, including secondary market disclosure.5 Findings in the September, 1993 Staff Report on the Municipal Securities Market ("Staff Report") regarding the growing participation of individual investors, who may not be sophisticated in financial matters, as well as the proliferation of complex derivative municipal securities, underscored the need for improved disclosure practices in both the primary and secondary municipal securities markets.6 Information about the issuer and other obligated persons is as critical to the secondary market,7 where little information about municipal issuers and obligated persons is regularly disseminated, as it is in primary offerings, where, as a general matter, good disclosure practices exist. As one industry group testified, today "secondary market information is difficult to come by even for professional municipal analysts, to say nothing of retail investors."8
Notwithstanding voluntary industry initiatives to improve disclosure, particularly primary market disclosure, the Stuff Report recommended that the Commission use its interpretive authority to provide guidance regarding the disclosure obligations of municipal securities participants under the anti fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, and that the Commission amend Rule 15c2–12 to prohibit municipal securities dealers from recommending outstanding municipal securities unless the issuer has committed to make available ongoing information regarding its financial condition. In order to assist issuers, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers in meeting their obligations under the antifraud provisions, in March, 1994, the Commission published the Statement of the Commission Regarding Disclosure Obligations of Municipal Securities Issuers and Others ("Interpretive Release"),9 which outlined its views with respect to the disclosure obligations of market participants under the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws in connection with both primary and secondary market disclosure.
Concurrent with the publication of the Interpretive Release, the Commission published Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33742 ("Proposing Release"),10 which requested comment on amendments to Rule 15c2–12 ("Proposed Amendments") designed to enhance the quality, timing, and dissemination of disclosure in the municipal securities market by placing certain requirements on brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers, In proposing the amendments, the Commission intended to further deter fraud by preventing the underwriting and recommendation of transactions in municipal securities about which little or no current information exists. Brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers serve as the link between the issuers whose securities they sell and the investors to whom they recommend securities. Investors, especially individual investors, place their reliance on these securities professionals for their recommendations of municipal securities.
The amendments to Rule 15c.2–12 ensure that brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers will review the secondary market disclosure practices of issuers and other obligated persons al the time of an offering of municipal securities.13 This scrutiny at the time of initial issuance of municipal securities will result in the dissemination of important information by issuers and other obligated persons throughout the term of the municipal securities. As a result of the amendments, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers will be better able to satisfy their obligation under the federal securities laws to have a reasonable basis on which to recommend municipal securities, as well as their obligations under the rules of the MSRB.
The availability of secondary market disclosure to all municipal securities market participants will enable investors to better protect themselves from misrepresentation or other fraudulent activities by brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers. A lack of consistent secondary market disclosure impairs investors' ability to acquire information necessary to make intelligent, informed investment decisions, and thus, to protect themselves from fraud.
In the Proposing Release, comment was requested on each aspect of the Proposed Amendments, as well as on standards for recognition of nationally recognized municipal securities information repositories ("NRMSIRs"). In response to the request for comments, the Commission received over 390 comment letters representing over 475 groups and individuals. The commenters represented all types of participants in the municipal securities market, including issuers, underwriters, investors, counsel, analysts, financial advisers, banks, insurance providers, disclosure services, and the MSRB, 14 The comment letters presented a variety of thoughtful views on the issues raised by the Proposing Release.15 The Commission has determined to adopt amendments to Rule 15c2–12, with certain modifications that are designed to address concerns expressed by commenters.16 In addition, the suggestions of a group of industry participants that cooperated to assist the Commission in its efforts to improve disclosure in the municipal securities market have been valuable.17
Commenters across a broad range of market participants supported the goal of improved secondary market disclosure for the municipal securities market, but emphasized that flexibility is necessary, given the diversity that exists in the municipal securities market.18 As adopted, the amendments to Rule 15c2–12 will further that goal by prohibiting underwritings unless there are commitments to provide ongoing disclosure, while, at the same time, providing issuers with significant flexibility to determine the appropriate nature of that disclosure. The amendments retain the requirement that a Participating Underwriter ascertain that an issuer or obligated person has undertaken to provide secondary market disclosure, including notices of material events, to information repositories, but rely on the parties to the transaction to establish who will provide secondary market disclosure, and what information is material to an understanding of the security being offered.
The amendments build upon and reinforce current market practices that have provided, as a general matter, good quality disclosure in official statements, and extend those practices to the secondary market. As is currently the practice, under the amendments, the participants in an underwriting would continue to determine which persons are material to an understanding of the Offering. Information concerning those persons would be included in the final official statement. Financial information and operating data that is material to an offering at the outset generally remains material throughout the life of the securities. Under the amendments, that information would be provided on an annual basis. Put simply, the amendments reflect the belief that purchasers in the secondary market need the same level of financial information and operating data in making investment decisions as purchasers in the underwritten offering.
The Proposed Amendments would have prohibited a broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer from recommending the purchase or sale of a municipal security, unless it had reviewed the annual and event information provided pursuant to the undertaking. Commenters anticipated that such a prohibition would have a considerable negative impact on secondary market liquidity. Furthermore, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers considered the proposed recommendation prohibition to be problematic from a compliance perspective. The Commission has modified this provision to require instead that brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers recommending municipal securities in the secondary market have procedures to obtain material event notices. Because under existing law brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers are required to use information disseminated into the marketplace in forming a reasonable basis for recommending securities to investors, the rule does not impose mechanical review requirements on a trade-by-trade basis.
The amendments contain an exemption to minimize the effect on small issuers. Offerings in which neither the issuer nor any obligor is obligated with respect to more than $10 million dollars in municipal securities outstanding following an offering will be exempt from the amendments, on the condition that there is a limited undertaking to provide upon request, or annually to a state information depository, at least the financial information or operating data they customarily prepare, and that is publicly available. In addition, the undertaking must meet the amendment's requirement regarding notices of material events.
Under the amendments to Rule 15c2–12, a broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer ("Participating Underwriter")19 will be prohibited, subject to certain exemptions, from purchasing or selling municipal securities in connection with a primary offering of municipal securities with an aggregate principal amount of $1,000,000 or more ("Offering"),20 unless the Participating Underwriter has made certain determinations.21 Specifically, the Participating Underwriter must reasonably determine that an issuer of municipal securities or an obligated person, either individually or in combination with other issuers of such municipal securities or other obligated persons,22 has undertaken in a written agreement or contract for the benefit of holders of such securities, to provide, either directly or indirectly through an indenture trustee or a designated agent, certain annual financial information and event notices to various information repositories.23
The "reasonable determination" required by the amendments to Rule 15c2–12 must be made by the Participating Underwriter prior to its purchasing or selling municipal securities in connection with an Offering. A Participating Underwriter would, therefore, need to receive assurances from the issuer or obligated persons that such undertakings would be made before agreeing to act as an underwriter. A dealer could look to provisions in the underwriting agreement or bond purchase agreement that describe the undertakings for the benefit of bondholders made elsewhere, such as in a trust indenture, bond resolution, or separate written agreement.24 In a competitively bid offering, such assurances also might be found in a notice of sale. Of course, representations concerning commitments to provide secondary market disclosure, like any other key representations by an issuer, are subject to specific verification, such that a Participating Underwriter has a reasonable basis to believe that such representations are true and accurate. Thus, investigation of an issuer's or obligated person's undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure would be an element of the Participating Underwriter's professional review of offering documents.25
Because the amendments prohibit Participating Underwriters from purchasing or selling securities in the absence of undertakings in a written agreement or contract, such agreement or contract would have to be in place at the time the issuer delivers the securities to the Participating Underwriter.26 As discussed below, in conditioning the closing of an Offering on the existence of an agreement or contract, this provision of the amendments permits flexibility as to where undertakings for continuing disclosure are memorialized.27
The amendments to the definition of final official statement will affect the obligations of Participating Underwriters under Rule 15c2–12. Rule 15c2–12(b)(1) requires that a Participating Underwriter, prior to bidding for, purchasing, offering, or selling municipal securities, obtain and review a DFOS.28 The Commission expects that Participating Underwriters will review the DFOS with a view to ascertaining that it contains information satisfying the definition of final official statement in Rule 15c2–12.29 The Commission further expects that the quality of disclosure in the DFOS will improve in a manner that is commensurate with the changes in final official statement disclosure.30
Rule 15c2–12fb)(2) requires, for all except competitively bid offerings, from the time a Participating Underwriter has reached an understanding with an issuer of municipal securities that it will act as a Participating Underwriter, until the final official statement is available, that the Participating Underwriter send, to any potential customer, no later than the next business day, a copy of the most recent POS, if any. The Commission expects that the Participating Underwriters' obligations with respect to dissemination of the POS will not change.
Under the amendments as adopted, the financial information and operational data to be provided on an annual basis pursuant to the undertaking will mirror the financial information and operating data contained in the final official statement with respect to both the issuers and obligated persons that will be the subject of the ongoing disclosure, and the type of information provided. The amendments govern the core financial and operational data to be provided. It does not address the textual disclosure typically provided in annual reports, leaving the scope of that disclosure to market practice.31 To clarify the intended quantitative focus of the rule, as adopted, the rule uses the term "financial information and operating data."
Commenters objected to various aspects of the proposed definition, including the general requirement that financial and operating information be presented in the final official statement.32 Commenters also objected that the use of the term "the issuer," in specifying whose financial information should be included in the final official statement, failed to take into account a variety of situations in which the governmental issuer does not have any repayment obligations on the municipal securities (as with conduit issuers), as well as other situations (such as revenue bonds) in which the payments will be derived from entities, enterprises, funds and accounts that do not prepare separate financial statements. Some commenters took the position that in certain instances, inclusion of the financial statements of the general municipal issuer of which the enterprise is a part may be misleading.33
In view of these comments, the definition of final official statement has been revised to require that financial information and operating data be provided for those persons, entities, enterprises, funds, and accounts that are material to an evaluation of the offering.34 Thus, the definition eliminates the reference to "the" issuer. In addition, the definition no longer requires that the official statement provide information about specific "significant obligors." It leaves to the parties (including the issuer and Participating Underwriters) the determination of whose financial information is material to the offering (including, without limitation, the credit supporting the securities being offered).
The definition does not set its own form and content requirements on the financial information and operating data to be included; in particular, the proposed requirement for audited financial statements has not been adopted. Instead, it provides the flexibility that many commenters asserted is necessary in determining the content and scope of the disclosed financial information and operating data, given the diversity among types of issuers, types of issues, and sources of repayment.35
The fact that the amendments rely on the final official statement to set the standard for ongoing disclosure should not serve as an incentive for issuers to reduce existing disclosure practices in the preparation of the final official statement. Market discipline and regulatory requirements should ensure that those practices continue at current or improved levels. While issuers remain primarily responsible for the content and accuracy of their disclosures,36 as noted. Participating Underwriters must review the DFOS in a manner consistent with their obligations.
As the Commission recognized in the Interpretive Release,37 the extensive voluntary guidelines issued by the Government Finance Officers' Association, and the industry specific guidelines published by industry groups such as the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, are followed widely in the preparation of official statements.38 The Commission anticipates that such sound practices will continue and develop beyond that mandated by the amendments. Although those guidelines are not mandatory, the Commission encourages market participants to continue to refer to those voluntary guidelines and the Commission's Interpretive Release in preparing disclosure documents. In addition, as noted in the Interpretive Release,39 final official statements are subject to the prohibition against false or misleading statements of material facts, including the omission of material facts necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading.
The definition of final official statement has been revised to make explicit45 that a final official statement may include financial information and operating data either by setting forth the information in the document or set of documents composing the final official statement, or by including a specific reference to documents already prepared and previously made publicly available.46 For purposes of the amendments, documents will be considered to be publicly available if they have been submitted to each NRMSIR and to the appropriate state information depository or, if the information concerns a reporting company, filed with the Commission. If the document is a final official statement, it must be available from the MSRB.
If cross referencing is used, for purposes of determining the appropriate scope of the ongoing information undertaking, the final official statement will be deemed to include all information and documents that have been cross referenced.47 The amendment does not place limitations on the type of issuer that may use cross referencing. This approach is consistent with the goal of making the repositories the principal source of information concerning municipal securities. Once received by a repository, the referenced information should be readily available regardless of the nature of the issuer.
As commenters noted, permitting cross referencing to other externally prepared and available information should result in official statements that are clear and concise, yet provide information material to the Offering.48 Moreover, the use of cross referencing also should ease some expressed apprehension about the ability of some issuers to obtain information about parties not within their control, to the extent that information about these parties is made available to the repositories or, if a reporting company, filed with the Commission.49
Critical to any evaluation of a covenant is the likelihood that the issuer or obligated person will abide by the undertaking. The definition of final official statement thus has been modified to require disclosure of all instances in the previous five years in which any person providing an undertaking failed to comply in all material respects with any previous informational undertakings called for by the amendments.53 This information is important to the market, and should, therefore, be disclosed in the final official statement. The requirement should provide an additional incentive for issuers and obligated persons to comply with their undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure, and will ensure that Participating Underwriters and others are able to assess the reliability of disclosure representations.54
The amendments do not prohibit Participating Underwriters from underwriting an Offering of municipal securities if an issuer or obligated person has failed to comply with previous undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure. However, if a failure to comply with such previous undertakings has not been remedied as of the start of the Offering, or if the party has a history of persistent and material breaches, it is doubtful whether a Participating Underwriter could form a reasonable basis for relying on the accuracy of the issuer's or obligated person's ongoing disclosure representations.
Under the amendments as revised, the identity of the persons for which information must be provided on an annual basis is determined by the information included in the final official statement. If the final official statement includes financial information or operating data on a person, information about that person must continue to be provided to the secondary market if the person is committed by contract or other arrangement to support payment of the obligations on the municipal securities.59 Thus, the obligation to provide ongoing information relates to those persons for which financial information or operating data is included in the final official statement and that have a contractual or other connection to repayment of the municipal obligations.
Commenters suggested a number of modifications to the significant obligor concept. First, a number of commenters indicated that the definition of significant obligor should include a requirement that a contractual relationship exist between the obligor and the repayment of the obligation before a continuing information obligation is imposed.67 Second, commenters recommended modifying the definition to include different percentages of cash flow, ranging from a low of no threshold to a high of 50% of cash flow.68 Third, some commenters suggested replacing the entire definition of significant obligor with the concept of materiality, in which the issuer and the other offering participants would determine, on a continuing basis, whose information would be provided.69
As suggested by a number of commenters, the amendments eliminate the reference to significant obligor.70 Instead, the amendments include a definition of "obligated person," which means a person (including an issuer of separate securities) that is committed by contract or other arrangement structured to support payment of all or part of the obligations on the municipal securities.71 By including a nexus to the financing through a commitment that is structured to support the payment obligations, the amendments address concerns raised by many commenters that the term "source of cash flow" in the definition of significant obligor was overbroad and could encompass persons with no relationship to the financing.72 The requirement for a contractual or other arrangement will assist Participating Underwriters in identifying the persons for which information should be provided pursuant to an undertaking.
Some commenters recommended that the commitment with respect to payment of the obligation on the securities consist of a contractual obligation to and enforceable by bondholders.73 Instead, the definition includes a broader notion of a contract or arrangement that is structured to "support payment," without specifying that it run to bondholders. The definition is intended to include contracts or arrangements where payments are made either to bondholders, to issuers to be used to pay obligations on municipal securities, or through conduit structures.74
Similarly, the reference to "obligations on municipal securities" is intended to be broad enough to cover debt obligations, lease payments and any other repayment obligation on or resulting from the municipal securities.
As was the case with the proposed significant obligor concept, the term "obligated persons" includes, but is broader than, the concept of issuers of separate securities under Rule 131 pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act")75 and Exchange Act Rule 3b-5.76 Also, in response to comments raised that the terms "issuer" or "significant obligor" do not sufficiently address financings-in which the source of repayment is not a separate person or entity, but a dedicated revenue stream from a specified project, segregated tax revenues or other enterprise, fund or account,77 the definition includes persons which are obligated generally, such as with full recourse to the person, or, in a more limited manner, such as through an enterprise, fund or account of such person, including a dedicated revenue stream. As noted above, the obligation to provide information must cover all such enterprises, funds or accounts, whether or not there is a separate entity. In such a case, the information undertaking could be provided by the governmental unit or financing authority of which the enterprise, fund or account is a part.78 For example, a Participating Underwriter could accept an information undertaking from a state issuing bonds secured solely by funds collected under a special tax, to report financial information relating to the special tax; for issues supported both by contracts of assistance of separate authorities or funds in addition to the issuer's own revenues, undertakings from the separate authorities, as well as the issuer could be provided. Accordingly, although the definition of significant obligor has been eliminated, that modification does not reflect a change in the Commission's assessment of the importance of ongoing information concerning the ultimate sources of payment on the securities.
Unlike the significant obligor concept in the Proposed Amendments, there is no need to include a specified percentage of payment in the definition of obligated person, because the issuer and other participants will determine at the time of preparation of the final official statement which obligated persons are material to an Offering.79 In making that materiality determination, the parties to a financing will evaluate the facts of the Offering.80
Determining the obligated persons in pooled financings requires more flexibility, because the composition of the pool may vary over time. Rather than identifying the specific persons for which information will be provided on a continuing basis, under the amendments, bond pools must describe in their official statements, and the undertaking, the objective criteria (presumably including percentage of payment support) they will apply consistently, both in the final official statement and on a continuing basis, in determining whether information concerning an obligated person will be provided.81 The amendments permit, but do not require this approach for non-pooled issuers. The objective criteria approach ensures that financial information and operating data will be provided about those persons that, at the time of disclosure, meet the objective standards described in the undertakings. Obligated persons could commit to the issuer, at the time of initial participation in a pooled financing, through an undertaking to provide information when and if they satisfy that criteria. Obligated persons that no longer meet the objective criteria will no longer need to provide ongoing information. In order to ensure that the selection method is incorporated into the undertaking, the amendments require that Participating Underwriters reasonably determine that the undertakings identify those persons for which the information will be provided, either by name or by the objective criteria to be used to select such persons.82
Commenters were divided on whether providers of bond insurance, letters of credit, and other liquidity facilities, should be excluded from the definition of significant obligor.83 The concept of "obligated person" encompasses these entities because they are committed, at least conditionally, to support payment of principal and interest obligations. Moreover, these persons normally are material to an understanding of the security, and, therefore, official statements should contain financial information concerning such persons either directly or by reference to publicly available materials. A number of commenters stated, however, that it would be inappropriate to put the onus on the issuer to provide information on such providers on an annual basis, particularly where that information is otherwise available to investors either upon request or in public reports that have been submitted to appropriate regulatory authorities.84
Commenters indicated a willingness by providers of bond insurance, letters of credit, and other liquidity facilities to deposit publicly available reports in a repository, or otherwise note where such reports may be easily obtained.85 The issuer or other obligated person providing the undertaking may then refer to such reports in their annual financial information and indicate the location where any such current annual reports can be obtained. Based upon such representations, providers of bond insurance, letters of credit, and liquidity facilities have been excepted from the definition of obligated person to eliminate the need to separately obtain and disseminate annual information about such providers.
The Commission encourages industry participants to work together to adopt appropriate disclosure practices, both with respect to information concerning the provider contained in primary offering materials and on an ongoing basis in the annual financial information. The Commission will monitor developments in this area regarding the nature and quality of information made available about credit enhancers and liquidity providers, and the manner in which information is made available to determine whether further steps are necessary to assure access to this important body of information.
In response to these concerns, and consistent with the general approach to affording underwriting participants significant flexibility, the undertaking provision has been revised to provide that the undertaking may be made by any issuer of the municipal securities being offered, or by any obligated person for which information is provided in the final official statement. An issuer of a municipal security may provide the undertaking, regardless of whether it is obligated on the municipal security. In addition, obligated persons may provide the undertaking regardless of whether they are deemed an issuer of municipal securities. These obligated persons may be the main, if not the only, credit source for repayment of the obligations on the municipal securities. This approach should allow the governmental issuer to shift to the obligated person the responsibility to provide information on a continuing basis.
Thus, a Participating Underwriter need only reasonably determine that an issuer of municipal securities or an obligated person for which financial information or operating data is presented in the final official statement has agreed to provide the information called for by the rule; it will not be necessary to obtain an undertaking from all possible issuers and obligated persons. Moreover, to respond to the expressed concern that separate undertakings should be permitted, the amendments have been revised to recognize that undertakings may be provided in combination with other issuers and other obligated persons. In all cases, however, the undertakings, either individually or collectively, must constitute a commitment to provide information with respect to all the persons about which information must be provided on an annual basis.
The amendments have been revised to clarify that dissemination responsibilities may be delegated to designated agents or to indenture trustees. As commenters pointed out, there are circumstances in which third parties may be effective in assisting issuers and obligated persons in disseminating the information.89 Moreover, indenture trustees have expressed concerns about being considered "designated agents" in performing any dissemination role, based on the scope of, and standards affecting, their responsibilities as indenture trustees.90 The language has been revised in response to clarify that, in addition to designated agents, issuers or obligated persons may contractually empower indenture trustees to disseminate information that an issuer or obligated person has agreed to provide. The parties may authorize an indenture trustee to provide certain information through specific instruction or on its own initiative upon becoming aware of particular facts.
Many commenters addressed the issue of whether the rule should specify form and content of the information that should be provided on an annual basis, as well as for event specific information.92 Some commenters argued that the rule should include specified formats for information to be provided, including financial statements and certain industry reporting formats,93 while other commenters contended that no form or content should be specified and that the parties should be permitted to make determinations based on materiality alone.94 As discussed below, the flexibility afforded by the concept of annual financial information addresses these concerns by providing a minimum standard for ongoing disclosure, but allowing the parties to define that standard with respect to each Offering of municipal securities.
Some commenters indicated that some municipalities were not required by law to have independently audited financial statements, and any such requirement would impose a significant new expense.95 A number of commenters also expressed doubt as to whether audited financial information could be delivered on an annual basis, because audits may not be completed for a number of years following the close of the fiscal year.96 Commenters noted that in some cases, financial statements for certain types of entities were audited every year, and in other cases every 2–3 years.97 Therefore, some of these commenters argued that the requirement for annual audited financial statements would have an adverse impact on an issuer's ability to access the public securities markets or increase its costs of financing.98
A number of commenters also raised concerns regarding the availability of full financial statements for certain issuers, whether or not audited.99 As examples, commenters noted that some issuing entities do not have their own financial statements and may be included in the financial statements of a larger issuer or entity.100 Commenters from two states indicated that governmental units of the states may be encompassed in the state's comprehensive annual financial report and that there may be only supplemental schedules that described the governmental units.101
Some commenters raised the point that financial statements of a general governmental unit may not necessarily be relevant in certain project and structured financings.102 As an example, one commenter noted that in some asset backed financings, information about the governmental issuer may be relevant only with respect to its experience in managing programs of loan pools.103
Commenters proposed a number of alternatives to the requirement to provide annual audited financial statements. Among the alternatives was a suggestion that financial statements be required in the form customarily prepared by the issuer promptly upon becoming available and that audited financial statements be provided to the extent available.104 Other suggestions included limiting the requirement to those entities required by state or federal law to have audited financial statements.105
In view of the comments received, the amendments do not adopt the proposal to mandate audited financial statements on an annual basis with respect to each issuer and significant obligor. Instead, the amendments continue to require annual financial information, which may be unaudited, and may, where appropriate and consistent with the presentation in the final official statement, be other than full financial statements. While it is anticipated that full financial statements will be provided for entities with ongoing revenues and operating expenses, it is possible that in the case of dedicated revenue streams and certain types of structured financings, other types of special purpose financial statements, project operating statements or reports may be used to reflect the financial position of the credit source for the financing. However, if audited financial statements are prepared, then when and if available, such audited financial statements will be subject to the undertaking and must be submitted to the repositories.106 Thus, as suggested by a number of commenters, the undertaking must include audited financial statements only in those cases where they otherwise are prepared.
The amendments adopt the proposed requirement that the undertaking specify the accounting principles pursuant to which the financial information provided as part of the annual financial information will be prepared.107 As discussed in the Proposing Release, it is important that financial information be prepared on a consistent basis to enable market participants to evaluate results and perform year to year comparisons.108 The undertaking also must specify whether audited financial statements will be provided as part of the annual financial information.109
The amendments do not establish a standardized format for presentation of financial information, or any specification of the content of the information, other than by reference to the final official statement. The annual financial information may be presented through any disclosure document or set of documents, whatever their form or principal purpose, that include the necessary information. The amendments, as adopted, contemplate that sequential final official statements prepared by frequent issuers may meet the standards of the rule. As in the case of final official statements, annual financial information submitted to a repository also may reference other information already submitted to repositories or the MSRB, or filed with the Commission.110
The amendments have been modified to respond to these comments. The phrase "pertinent" has been deleted from the reference to operating information and the word "data" is used to emphasize the intended quantitative nature of the information. Operating data is included as a subset of annual financial information, and the operating data to be provided annually also is determined by reference to the type of operating data presented in the final official statement. Thus, the parties will determine at the outset, presumably with the assistance of applicable industry guidelines, what operating data will be provided both initially and on an ongoing basis. For example, in a conduit health care financing, under current industry practice, an official statement typically provides information relating to the obligated party—the hospital—in an appendix. In addition to a discussion describing the hospital, its administration and management, economic base and service area, and capital plan, operating statistics such as bed utilization, admissions and type, patient days, and payor utilization often is provided.
Under the amendments, in this type of transaction, parties at the outset of a transaction will determine which operating data will be included in the hospital appendix; such information, in turn, will be the type of "operating data" to be provided annually.
Some commenters expressed concern that the Proposed Amendments were not sufficiently flexible to permit parties to address changing conditions because the undertaking would have to describe the financial and pertinent operating information to be provided in the future.113 Nonetheless, the requirement that the undertaking specify in reasonable detail the type of data that will be provided on an ongoing basis, including the identity of the persons (or category of persons) about which the information will relate has been retained. As is the case with financial information, the intent of the amendments is to give investors and market participants the ability to evaluate the security through comparisons of the quantitative operating data provided. Contrary to the suggestion of some commenters, the undertaking would be meaningless if issuers and obligated persons could unilaterally determine that certain types of information were no longer necessary or meaningful to investors.
Because the amendments require that the undertaking specify only the general type of information to be supplied, there should be sufficient flexibility to accommodate subsequent developments that may require adjustments in the financial information and operating data that should be provided annually. Of course, nothing in the undertaking will prevent a party from providing additional information, particularly where such disclosure may be necessary to avoid liability under the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Similarly, the amendments make specific provision for adjusting the persons about which information is provided. As required in the case of pooled financings, parties may identify the persons covered by reference to objective selection criteria that will be applied on a consistent basis between the offering statements and with regard to annual financial information. Moreover, the party providing the undertaking need not continue to provide information concerning persons that are no longer obligated persons with respect to the municipal securities.
A new provision has been added to the amendments which permits the written agreement or contract to have a termination provision with respect to any obligated person that is no longer directly or indirectly liable for repayment of any of the obligations on the municipal securities.114 Once an obligated person no longer has any liability for repayment of the municipal securities, whether through termination or expiration of its commitment to support payment, or as a result of a defeasance of the municipal securities with no remaining liability, then the obligation to provide annual financial information and notices of events may terminate.
Commenters generally agreed that issuers and obligors should be subject to an undertaking to provide event information to the market.115 Brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers supported these provisions of the Proposed Amendments, because the use of a list provides guidance as to what events should be covered.116 Other commenters, however, felt that the list should be deleted from the rule and that the concept of materiality should be relied upon to determine what events should be the subject of notices.117 Some commenters believed that the list of eleven events should be expanded to include a provision that would cover any other event that might reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the holders of the bonds.118
The list of eleven events has been retained in the amendments.119 As indicated in the Proposing Release, the list of eleven events was proposed in response to requests for guidance to issuers and other participants in the municipal securities markets as to those events that normally would reflect on the credit supporting the municipal securities, as well as on the terms of the securities that they issue, and thus normally would be considered material. Under the amendments, only the occurrence of one of the specified events will, if material, create an obligation to send a notice to the repository.
The determination of whether other events also should be the subject of notification pursuant to the information undertaking is left to the parties. For example, some commenters requested that the list of events be expanded to address circumstances when the notified events have been cured or rectified, as well as other favorable developments.120 The parties would be free to add such matters to the undertaking. Issuers also may wish to send information regarding material developments to the repositories, to ensure equal access to that information by all investors and participants in the market, regardless of whether the particular development is subject to the undertaking.121
Some commenters were concerned that permitting issuers and obligors to send any notices or information they wished would flood the repositories. Given the fact that event notices generally are short, it appears that the repositories would be able to handle the flow of notices. The Commission will. however, monitor developments in this area.
Some commenters expressed concern that the event described as "matters affecting collateral" was too broad.122 In response to such observations, that reference has been revised to reflect more clearly the types of events relating to collateral that could affect the creditworthiness of the security being offered. For instance, the item was not intended to require disclosure in the event of a drop in revenues or receipts securing payment. Rather, as more clearly indicated in the revised amendments, it is intended to encompass the release, substitution, or sale of property securing repayment of the securities being offered.123
Commenters also questioned whether the event relating to adverse tax opinions or events affecting the tax-exempt status of the security would include events not specific to an issuer, such as tax law changes which may affect a multitude of issuances and which are broadly reported.124 They argued that there is no need for each issuer to make that disclosure, which may overwhelm the repositories. The amendments do not include a uniform requirement for notification of events having widespread impact that are widely reported. Frequently, individual issuer disclosure may not affect the total "mix" of information available to investors, for example where Congress amends tax rates or alternative minimum tax rules that could affect an investor's yield. On the other hand, it may not be clear, absent individual disclosure, which classes of outstanding securities are affected by the general events, for example, where the tax law change affects a particular type of municipal security or financing structure.
It is possible that an "event" affecting the tax-exempt status of the security may include the commencement of litigation and other legal proceedings. including an audit by the Internal Revenue Service, when an issuer determines, based on the status of the proceedings and their likely impact on holders of the municipal securities, among other things, that such events may be material to investors.
Commenters expressed concern that the party providing the undertaking may not have knowledge of the occurrence of events affecting other parties that might be called for by the provisions of the rule.125 This concern should be addressed by the revised approach of enabling the parties to the transaction to determine who will provide the undertakings. For example, in the conduit context, the covenant could he provided by the person that is committed by contract or other arrangement to support payment of debt service, rather than the conduit issuer.
The timing for providing the notification has not been changed from the Proposed Amendments, which required that the notice be provided on a "timely" basis. The amendments do not establish a specific time frame as "timely," because of the wide variety of events and issuer circumstances. In general, this determination must take into consideration the time needed to discover the occurrence of the event, assess its materiality, and prepare and disseminate the notice.
A new paragraph has been added to the amendments126 that would require a Participating Underwriter to reasonably determine that the undertaking includes an agreement to notify the appropriate repository if the annual financial information is not provided in the stated time frame. Given the expressed concerns of some commenters regarding the difficulty that they would face in determining whether an issuer or other person was in compliance with any of its undertakings,127 this provision will help inform market participants if annual financial information for such persons has not been made available in the agreed upon time frame.
The Proposed Amendments called for the undertaking to be contained in a written agreement or contract for the benefit of holders of municipal securities. Commenters provided a variety of views as to where the undertakings should be memorialized, who should be parties to .such undertakings, and the need for flexibility to modify undertakings in the future. Commenters suggested, for instance, that the undertakings could be included in the trust indenture, bond resolution, ordinance, or other legislation, a separate written agreement, or the underwriting agreement or bond purchase agreement.
As discussed in the Proposing Release, many offerings of municipal securities are issued pursuant to a trust indenture setting out the covenants of the issuer for the benefit of the holders of the municipal securities. If there is no trust indenture as part of an offering, as is the case with general obligation and certain other types of bonds, there may be a bond resolution, ordinance, or other legislation. Most commenters addressing this issue considered the trust indenture, bond resolution, ordinance, or other legislation to be appropriate for undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure, because they would create a direct obligation by issuers to bondholders.128 Commenters also suggested the use of a separate written agreement between the issuer and the trustee as an appropriate method of memorializing undertakings.129
Several commenters suggested that the inclusion of the undertakings in an underwriting agreement or bond purchase agreement would be sufficient for purposes of Rule 15c2–12,130 though another commenter suggested that a promise running to the benefit of the underwriter, whether in a bond purchase agreement or in a separate agreement, would be enforceable by existing and future bondholders only en the basis of a third party beneficiary theory, the availability of which may vary from state to state.131
Because commenters were supportive of leaving the determination of the location of the undertaking to the parties, the relevant language of the Proposed Amendments, requiring a Participating Underwriter to look to "undertakings in a written agreement or contract for the benefit of holders of such securities" has been adopted as proposed. Therefore, undertakings may be included in a trust indenture, bond resolution or other legislation, or a separate written agreement. Undertakings also may be included in the bond form itself. This general requirement will create a direct obligation to bondholders, yet will be flexible to address variations in state law, as well as the wide variety of types and structures of offerings in the municipal securities market.
The Commission also recognizes that an issuer's ability to contract may be limited under state law. To the extent that issuers are restricted by statute from entering into long-term contractual arrangements, the undertaking may include a qualifier to its obligation, such as that it is subject to appropriation.132
Commenters generally took the view that, while a statement in the final official statement describing any undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure would be an important addition to undertakings in a written agreement or contract, in order to make clear that the undertaking is an obligation of the issuer or obligated person that is enforceable on behalf of bondholders, the undertaking should be in a writing signed by the issuer or obligated person.133 Statements regarding an issuer's or obligated person's provision of secondary market disclosure made exclusively in an official statement would not satisfy the terms of Rule 15c2–12(b)(5) because they would not create a contract enforceable on behalf of bondholders.
Commenters addressing the inclusion of undertakings in various documents were concerned that the failure to provide continuing disclosure pursuant to the undertakings could be deemed a potential event of default on the securities.134 Though a failure to comply with the undertaking would be a breach of contract, the rule does not specify the consequences of an issuer's breach of its undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure. As called for by the Joint Response, as well as other, commenters, remedies for breach of any undertaking under applicable state law are a subject for negotiation between the parties to the Offering. To avoid uncertainties of enforcement, the parties to a transaction are encouraged to enumerate the consequences in the undertaking, including the available remedies, for breach of the information undertaking.
The Proposed Amendments would have prohibited any broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer from recommending the purchase or sale of a municipal security unless it had specifically reviewed the information the issuer of such municipal security bad undertaken to provide.135 The purpose of this provision of the Proposed Amendments was to assist dealers in satisfying their obligation to have a reasonable basis to recommend municipal securities by requiring them to consider the most current information before making a recommendation.
In view of the importance of secondary market liquidity in municipal issues, the Commission requested comment on whether the Proposed Amendments would have a substantial or long-lasting effect on market liquidity. This request for comment was based on concerns raised about whether municipal securities dealers would be willing to effect secondary market transactions in a broad range of municipal securities if review was required on a recommendation by recommendation basis.
Many commenters strongly criticized this provision of the Proposed Amendments. The majority of commenters responded that requiring the review of information prior to making a recommendation on the purchase or sale of a municipal security would create substantial compliance burdens for dealers.136 Commenters also noted that the specific requirement to review information either would impel dealers to hire larger research and analysis staffs,137 or, more likely, would cause dealers to restrict the issuers whose municipal securities they would trade to a smaller number of large and frequent issuers.138 Commenters predicted that, as a result, liquidity for all but the largest and most frequent issuers would be reduced.139
Commenters proposed alternatives to the recommendation prohibition, including basing the type of review of a municipal security, and disclosure about such review, on whether the investor was an institutional or retail investor,140 or on the type of municipal security recommended.141 Other commenters suggested the continued reliance on the reasonable basis standard inherent in the MSRB's suitability rule, G-13, and the antifraud provisions, as discussed in the Commission in the 1988 and 1989 Releases proposing and adopting Rule 15c2–12, as well as the Interpretive Release.142
As adopted, this provision has b; en modified in a number of respects to respond to concerns expressed by commenters. In particular, the amendments replace the proposed review standard with a requirement that dealers have procedures in place that provide reasonable assurance that they will receive promptly any notices of material events regarding the securities that they recommend. The events are any of the eleven events disclosed as described in Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(C), or the notice of failure to provide annual financial information in accordance with an undertaking as described in Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(D) with respect to that security. Many dealers currently subscribe to electronic reporting systems that give notice of significant events made public by municipal issuers. To comply with the rule's requirement, these dealers should make certain that these systems receive, directly or indirectly, material event notices for issues the dealer recommends. In addition, dealers should develop procedures to ensure that notices of such events will be available to the staff responsible for making recommendations.
In the Commission's view, the recommendation provision, as modified, should substantially reduce the concerns of commenters with respect to compliance burdens and effects on liquidity. It also will help ensure that dealers will consider the material event notices that issuers produce, thus enabling them to have an adequate basis on which to recommend143 municipal securities.
Moreover, even though the amendments do not require that dealers directly review an issuer's ongoing disclosure before making each recommendation, the Commission agrees with those commenters that said that additional information made available by issuers will be taken into account by dealers making recommendations regarding that security, under the MSRB's fair dealing and suitability rules, and the antifraud provisions.144 In addition to the Commission's past interpretations of the responsibilities of dealers to have a reasonable basis for their recommendations, the MSRB repeatedly has emphasized that secondary market disclosure information publicized by issuers must be taken into account by dealers to meet the investor protection standards imposed by its investor protection rules. Specifically, MSRB rule G-17 requires dealers to disclose material facts of a transaction to the customer; MSRB rule G-19 requires dealers to ensure that any transaction recommended to the customer is suitable for that customer; and MSRB rule G-30 requires dealers to ensure that the prices set for customer transactions are fair and reasonable. In its comment letter, the MSRB noted that "[i]f a dealer is not aware of major financial and other material developments affecting an issuer's securities, it is difficult or impossible for the dealer to comply with these requirements."145
For example, if a dealer reviews an electronic reporting system for material events relating to a security, and finds that an issuer has submitted a notice that it has failed to provide annual financial information on or before the date specified in the written agreement or contract,146 that fact would be a significant factor to be taken into account when the dealer formulates the basis for a recommendation of such securities. While the dealer would not be prohibited per se from recommending such municipal securities, notice that the issuer has failed to provide annual financial information would be the type of material information required to be disclosed to the customer pursuant to MSRB rule G-17.147 Such a notice also would trigger a further inquiry by the dealer to assure itself that it is cognizant of the condition of the issuer or obligated persons, despite the absence of promised information. This also would be true if a dealer attempts to obtain an issuer's annual financial information, finds that it has not been submitted to any repository, and the dealer had no record of the issuer submitting a notice to this effect. In such cases, further research may be necessary or advisable prior to making a recommendation in the issuer's securities.
Under Rule 15c2–12, as adopted in 1989, NRMSIRs essentially serve the function of disseminators of official statements on behalf of Participating Underwriters.148 The option of Participating Underwriters to transfer their final official statement delivery obligations to NRMSIRs has encouraged the development of NRMSIRs.149 The three existing NRMSIRs are private vendors that gather and disseminate final official statements pursuant to Rule 15c2–12. In addition, although not required under existing provisions of the rule, they provide other current information about municipal issuers to the primary and secondary municipal securities markets.150
As a result of the amendments, NRMSIRs will play an expanded role in the collection and dissemination of secondary market information. In addition to the collection and dissemination of final official statements, they will collect and disseminate annual financial information, as well as notices of material events. The Commission is sensitive to the need of NRMSIRs for flexibility, especially with respect to the timing requirements for the dissemination of notices of material events. The Commission will monitor developments in the municipal securities market as participants adapt to the changes in Rule 15c2–12, and fully expects that the current and potential NRMSIRs are capable of adjusting to their expanded role. The Commission is of the view that NRMSIRs, as private information vendors, will have sufficient economic incentives to serve their expanded functions resulting from the amendments to Rule 15c2–12, even in the absence of the more specific review requirement of the recommendation prohibition of the Proposed Amendments.151
The Commission requested comment on whether the term "NRMSIR" should be defined in Rule 15c2–12, and whether specific standards should be established for NRMSIRs. If standards were to be established in the rule, the Commission requested comment on whether proposed standards set forth in the release were adequate.152 The majority of state-based information gatherers and disseminators, and other NRMSIRs that addressed the issue of defining the term "NRMSIR" supported maintaining the guidelines already established by the Commission in the 1989 Release.153 After reviewing the comment letters, the Commission has determined that the guidance established in the 1989 Release for NRMSIRs should be modified only as necessary to reflect the amendments to Rule 15c2–12. In determining whether a particular entity is a NRMSIR the Commission will now consider, among other things, whether the repository:
While NRMSIRs may charge reasonable fees156 for the dissemination of information, they may not charge issuers for accepting information provided by issuers in accordance with Rule 15C2–12.157 In response to concerns raised by commenters, the Commission also notes that giving preferential treatment to certain brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers by giving them market information before it is made available to all customers would be wholly inconsistent with recognition as a NRMSIR.158
Comment also was requested on the ability and willingness of both potential NRMSIRs, and those presently operating under no-action letters, to meet the dissemination standards discussed in the Proposing Release. NRMSIRs responded that they can meet these standards.159 In order to implement these standards, the Commission has determined that existing NRMSIRs should reapply for recognition from the Commission under the revised criteria to continue to function as NRMSIRs.
The Commission also requested comment on whether a state-based depository could serve as an effective means to disseminate information to the market for a nationally traded security, thus enabling the appropriate parties to fulfill their disclosure obligations using a state-based depository. Commenters expressed divergent views on this issue.160 No state responded directly in response to the Commission's request for comment on whether states are willing to make the necessary financial commitment to create a state-based system. The Comptroller of the State of New York pointed out, however, that his office already collects financial data from local governments, and that there "is an appropriate and important function which the states may perform in the secondary market disclosure process."161 A number of third party state-based information collectors also stated that they were in the process of creating state-based repositories.162 Other such third party state-based information collectors pointed out that they already had working depositories in place.163
Based on these comments, and in light of existing disclosure mechanisms and recent legislation in several states designed to enhance secondary market disclosure,164 it appears that states can play a beneficial role in enhancing disclosure in the municipal securities market.165 State-based depositories will be in a special relationship with filers of disclosure information to provide for convenient and efficient dissemination. The Commission therefore encourages states to develop state-based depositories.
To encourage the development of state-based depositories, the Commission has amended Rule 15c2–12 to require that Participating Underwriters reasonably determine that the information undertaken to be provided, in addition to being submitted to the NRMSIRs, or, in some cases, to the MSRB, will be submitted to a state information depository ("SID"), if an appropriate SID has been established in that state. Further, as discussed below,166 an exemption conditioned on making annual financial information available upon request or to a SID, and providing notices of material events to each NRMSIR or the MSRB, and to a SID, has been adopted. An appropriate SID would be a depository operated or designated167 by the state that receives information from all issuers within the state, and makes this information available promptly to the public on a contemporaneous basis.168 The Commission staff is prepared to provide guidance in particular instances regarding a SID's qualification for purposes of the rule.
The Proposing Release asked to whom the required information should be delivered. It also requested comment on the feasibility of requiring NRMSIRs to inform the MSRB when they receive disclosure information from issuers, and whether such information also should be required to be placed with the MSRB, in addition to or in lieu of a NRMSIR. The NRMSIRs did not address the issue of requiring them to inform the MSRB whenever they received disclosure information from an issuer, although one commenter argued that designating the MSRB as a repository only would add an unnecessary layer to the dissemination process.169 Other commenters suggested designating a single central repository.170 Similarly, some commenters suggested imposing a requirement that disclosure information be delivered to all NRMSIRs,171 while others suggested that NRMSIRs be required to share the information received with other NRMSIRs,172 and a third group preferred the establishment of a central index.173 State-based information gatherers and disemminators had diverging views on this issue.174
Based on these comments, the Commission has determined to require that annual financial information undertaken to be provided be deposited with each NRMSIR and the appropriate SID in the issuer's state. Any audited financial statements submitted in accordance with the undertakings also must be delivered to each NRMSIR and to the SID in the issuer's state, if such a depository has been established. The requirement to have annual financial information and audited financial statements delivered to all NRMSIRs and the appropriate SID is a modification of the Proposed Amendments. This modification will ensure that all NRMSIRs receive disclosure information directly. It also permits the Commission to adopt the amendments without a delay for the creation of a central index or a system of information sharing among NRMSIRs.175 The requirement to send information to all NRMSIRs rather than a single NRMSIR of the issuer's or obligated person's choice, should not impose significant burdens or costs, other than duplication and mailing costs. Furthermore, this requirement to deliver disclosure to the NRMSIRs and the appropriate SID also allays the anticompetitive concerns raised by the creation of a single NRMSIR.
In contrast to annual financial information, under the amendments, notices of material events, as well as notices of a failure by an issuer or other obligated person to provide annual financial information must be delivered to each NRMSIR or the MSRB, and the appropriate SID. The Commission is of the view that permitting issuers and obligated persons to file such notices either with each NRMSIR or with the MSRB (as well as the appropriate SID) will facilitate prompt and wide disclosure. The amendments reflect the preference of some commenters for filing such notices in one central place, such as the MSRB, rather than having to file with multiple NRMSIRs. The Commission expects that if notices are filed with the MSRB, the MSRB will make these notices available to all NRMSIRs on a prompt and contemporaneous basis.
Due to the time sensitive nature of notices of material event and failures to provide annual financial statements, it is important that such notices are disseminated quickly. These market requirements will dictate that disseminators have a system in place by which information vendors can make such notices available to broker-dealers and investors quickly and contemporaneously.
NRMSIRs and other information vendors have indicated in their comment letters that under certain circumstances a 15 minute turnaround176 time for notices of material events, and a 24 hour turnaround period for annual financial information may be feasible, and, in some instances, already is in place.177 Nonetheless, because the ultimate scope of the information undertakings was not known to the existing and potential NRMSIRs at the time they submitted their comments, the Commission intends to discuss with the NRMSIRs during the recognition process appropriate and practicable turnaround standards for information re-dissemination. Because SIDs are alternative sources of information for every type of disclosure, the Commission does not intend to impose strict turnaround times for SIDs. Instead, SIDs should provide the Commission and users with a clear statement of turnaround times that they will meet consistently.
The Commission also received many suggestions from information gatherers and vendors on streamlining the filing of disclosure information. These suggestions included requiring electronic filing of disclosure information, providing filings on computer disks and providing information to NRMSIRs as images of original source documents rather than exclusively as coded text.178 Rather than dictate standards, the Commission encourages municipal securities market participants to coordinate their requirements and preferences on an industry-wide basis.
The Proposed Amendments contained two new exemptions, which are being adopted with certain modifications. A third new exemption from the annual financial information requirement, for short-term securities, also is being adopted. In addition, Rule 15c2–12's limitation to primary offerings of municipal securities with an aggregate principal amount of $1,000,000 or more, and its existing exemptions, also apply to the amendments.179
The Proposed Amendments would have exempted from the provisions of the undertaking and recommendation prohibitions of the rule municipal securities issued in Offerings by issuers that had (i) less than $10,000,000 in principal amount of securities outstanding, including the offered securities and (ii) issued less than $3,000,000 in aggregate amount of municipal securities in the most recent 48 months preceding the offering.
A number of commenters discussed the appropriateness of the proposed dollar exemption, with comments ranging from a call for increased thresholds to no thresholds at all.180 Some commenters believed that the thresholds should be increased, because many small municipalities would exceed these .thresholds if they delay their financings in order to issue a greater amount of bonds at one time. The commenters argued that these are small, infrequent issuers with limited trading in the secondary market and the cost of compliance would outweigh the benefits received from improved secondary market disclosure.181
Other commenters took exception to the proposed thresholds because they were too high. These commenters argued that the exemption as proposed would exclude from coverage of the rule the types of issuers who have historically had deficient disclosure practices and disproportionate numbers of defaults.182 A number of commenters also argued that the $3 million/48 month component of the threshold was too complex.183
As adopted,184 the exemption retains the aggregate $10,000,000 limitation, but eliminates the $3,000,000 threshold. Instead, in addition to falling under the $10,000,000 in outstanding securities threshold, the exemption is conditioned upon an issuer or obligated person providing a limited disclosure undertaking. Under this undertaking, financial information and operating data concerning each obligor for which financial information or operating data is presented in the final official statement, must be provided upon request to any person, or be provided at least annually to the appropriate SID. The undertaking would specify the type of financial information and operating data that will be made available annually, which must include financial information and operating data that is customarily prepared by the obligated person and is publicly available. The final official statement must describe where and how the financial information and operating data can be obtained.
Financial information and operating data of governmental issuers generally are subject to freedom of information laws, and thus would be publicly available for purposes of this condition of the exemption. Conduit borrowers generally provide annual financial information to trustees, credit enhancers, or the financing agency that issued the municipal securities, and thus would have no difficulty complying with this standard if that information is made publicly available. To the extent that an obligated person does not currently publicly disclose that information, they are free to specify the type of information they are undertaking to provide on an ongoing basis, but they must agree to provide some information. That information need not be the same type of information presented in the official statement. Nor would these exempt persons have to release their audited financial statements, unless they otherwise customarily prepare and make their audited financial statements publicly available. Moreover, the limited disclosure undertaking need only cover those obligors for which financial information or operating data is provided in the official statement.
In addition to providing financial information and operating data annually, notices of material events must be sent to each NRMSIR or to the MSRB, and the appropriate SID. This public information condition has been adopted in response to comments highlighting the need for information regarding small issuers accessing the public debt market.185
The threshold of $10,000,000 has been retained, notwithstanding Comments that it was too high or too low. According to statistics provided by one commenter,186 in 1993, 71% of the approximately 52,000 municipal issuers had under $10,000,000 in outstanding municipal securities. Accordingly, the amendments as proposed already provided significant exemptive relief for small issuers. Indeed, the fact that a majority of issuers fall below that threshold supports conditioning the exemption on a commitment to provide a limited amount of secondary market information from exempt issuers. Even with that condition, a significant percentage of offerings would remain totally exempt from the amendments as adopted, because over 20% of the total issuances in 1993 were under $1,000,000.187 As these statistics demonstrate, the exemption should exclude a large percentage of small infrequent issuers.
Commenters also questioned how the aggregate thresholds were measured, including whose securities would be included and whether the exemption applied only to outstanding securities that were sold in Offerings subject to the rule.188 Many commenters indicated that the thresholds should be separately applied to each issuer of municipal securities and each underlying obligor.189 Thus, in the case of conduit issuers that have no liability on the municipal securities, commenters argued that the thresholds should be determined by reference to the persons who are the beneficiaries of the financing.190 Some commenters argued that those issuers that had different types of financings that relied on separate revenue streams for repayment, such as dedicated tax revenues, should not be foreclosed from relying on the small issuer exemption for each financing.191
To address the first of these concerns, the amendments have been revised to clarify that the availability of the exemption turns on the amount of outstanding municipal securities for which an issuer or obligated person also is an obligated person. An issuer of municipal securities would need to satisfy the threshold only if it were an obligated person with respect to the security being offered. Under this approach, if a financing agency that is offering obligations that have some recourse to the agency, only those outstanding securities of the agency that likewise are recourse would count toward the threshold. If the financing agency does not issue recourse securities, the exemption will be unavailable only if a conduit borrower obligated on the municipal securities being offered is an obligated person with respect to more than $10,000,000 in outstanding municipal securities. If any one obligated person in an Offering exceeds the threshold, then the entire Offering, including all obligated persons, will be subject to the rule. Subsequent non-recourse offerings by the financing agency would not be affected, but would be subject to a similar test.
With respect to the second concern, however, the amendments require that an obligated person aggregate all its outstanding obligations, even if some are payable from separate dedicated revenue sources. For example, a city or county that issues securities for a number of different purposes could not qualify as a small and infrequent issuer merely because its outstanding securities are payable from separate revenue streams. Thus, while a governmental issuer's outstanding obligations need not be aggregated with that of non-governmental obligated persons, a governmental issuer could not avoid aggregation of its securities by restricting repayment to separate revenue streams.192
Commenters also discussed a related issue of what securities would be included in the calculation. Commenters contended that only publicly offered securities should be included in the calculation. Other commenters questioned how short term obligations such as bond anticipation notes, refunded bonds and installment/lease purchase agreements would be treated. Several commenters suggested that the threshold should be measured only against publicly offered, long-term bonds.193
The amendments have been clarified in this respect to exclude from the threshold calculation securities that were offered in transactions exempt from Rule 15c2–12 because they were otherwise exempt as private placements and short term financings. In addition, to the extent that an issuer or obligated person is no longer liable for repayment on bonds, as with certain defeased bonds, then such bonds would not be included in the calculation of the threshold for such issuer or obligated person.
A number of commenters indicated that an exemption should be available based on the number of holders of the municipal securities.194 However, in accordance with concerns voiced by other commenters regarding the difficulty in ascertaining the number of holders due to the fact that most municipal securities are held in street name through a very limited number of depositories,195 the amendments do not adopt any exemption based on the number of holders of the municipal securities.
A variety of other comments were raised relating to exemptions, and a number of alternative exemptions were proposed, including exemptions based on the type of issuer or the existence of an investment grade rating.196 Commenters also believed that an exemption should be available for securities covered by bond insurance or other credit enhancement, such as bank letters of credit.197 Except as described above, the exemptions have not been revised to adopt these suggestions. Commenters, including some bond insurance providers,198 expressed the view that the existence of credit enhancement does not necessarily eliminate the need for information regarding the underlying credit.
A number of commenters also argued that new exemptions should be added that would mirror exemptions under the Securities Act.199 Some commenters argued that exemptions should be included for non-profit entities that would have their own exemption from registration under the Securities Act.200 The Commission is not including any exclusion in the amendments for any such issuers. Issuers accessing the tax-exempt public securities markets have obligations to promote the integrity and efficiency of those markets. As the Commission noted in the Interpretive Release, the high level of defaults in sectors such as healthcare, lifecare, retirement homes and multifamily housing, relative to other market sectors,201 and the past problems with the sufficiency of information in many of these sectors, weighs heavily against adopting such exclusions
A new exemption has been added to exempt from the requirement for an undertaking calling for annual financial information, Offerings of securities with an. 18 month or shorter maturity.202 The new exemption is in response to comments suggesting that the rule not require annual financial information in situations where the securities would mature shortly after, or possibly even before, the annual financial information would be due.203 The provisions of the amended rule relating to notices of material events, however, would apply to these Offerings absent some other Rule 15C2–12 exemption.
The Proposed Amendments also included a new exemption,204 which would have permitted the recommendation in the secondary market of securities that were not subject to the underwriting prohibition, either because they were sold in a primary offering205 of municipal securities with an aggregate principal amount of less than $1,000,000, or came within the existing exemptions for limited placements, short-term securities, and securities with demand features,206 or within the new exemption for small, infrequent issuers.207 This exemption has been adopted as proposed.208 with the exception that securities sold in an exempt Offering that is subject to the limited undertaking condition,209 are not exempt from the application of the recommendation prohibition. Pursuant to this element of the small issuer exemption, dealers must have in place procedures to receive notices of material events.210
The existing Rule 15c2–12 transactional exemption211 permits the Commission to exempt any Participating Underwriter from any requirement of the rule. Because Rule 15c2–12, as amended, places requirements on brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers in the secondary market, the transactional exemption has been amended to clarify that the Commission has exemptive authority with respect to both Participating Underwriters, in connection with Offerings, and with respect to brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers recommending transactions in the secondary market.212
The rule as amended contains a transitional provision for the amendments to Rule 15c2–12.213 The underwriting prohibition applies to a Participating Underwriter that has contractually committed to act as an underwriter in an Offering on or after the effective date of the rule, July 3, 1995; provided that issuers need not undertake to provide annual financial information for fiscal years ending prior to January 1, 1996. The recommendation prohibition will become effective on January 1, 1996. The Commission is of the view that this delay of six months beyond the effective date of the amendment relating to the underwriting of municipal securities is sufficient to permit participants in the municipal securities market to design procedures for compliance with the provisions of Rule 15c2–12. Brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers must, therefore, have procedures in place to comply with the recommendation prohibition on or before January 1, 1996. Finally, the limited undertaking condition to the small issuer exemption need not be satisfied for offerings commencing prior to January 1, 1996.
Section 23(a)(2) of the Exchange Act214 requires the Commission, in adopting rules under the Act, to consider the anticompetitive effects of those rules, if any, and to balance that impact against the regulatory benefits gained in terms of furthering the purposes of the Exchange Act. The Commission has considered the amendments to Rule 15c2–12 in light of the standard cited in Section 23(a)(2) and believes the adoption of the amendments will not impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the Exchange Act.
In addition, the Commission has prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis ("FRFA"), pursuant to the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act215 regarding the proposed amendments to Rule 15c2–12. The Commission requested comment on the extent to which current practice deviates from the requirements of the proposed amendments, and the extent to which additional costs may be imposed on small issuers, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers if the amendments are adopted as proposed. The FRFA indicates that the amendments to the rule could impose some additional costs on small broker-dealers and municipal issuers. Nonetheless, the Commission is of the view that many of the substantive requirements of the amendments already are observed, absent access to the continuing information provided by the amendments, by issuers, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers as a matter of business practice, or to fulfill their existing obligations under the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. To the extent that the Proposed Amendments would have imposed additional costs on small issuers, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers, in response to commenters' concerns, the Commission has modified the amendments as described.
A copy of the FRFA may be obtained from Janet W. Russell-Hunter, Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, Division of Market Regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street NVV., Mail Stop 7–10, Washington. DC 20549, (202) 942–0073.
List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 240
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Securities.
Text of Amendments to Rule 15c2–12
In accordance with the foregoing, Title 17, Chapter II of Title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:
PART 240—GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
* * * * *
§240.15c2–12 Municipal securities disclosure.
Preliminary Note: For a discussion of disclosure obligations relating to municipal securities, issuers, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers should refer to Securities Act Release No. 7049. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33741, FR—12 (March 9, 1994), For a discussion of the obligations of underwriters to have a reasonable basis for recommending municipal securities, brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers should refer to Securities Exchange Act Release No. 26100 (Sept. 22, 1988) and Securities Exchange Act Release No. 26985 (June 28, 1989).
* * * * *
* * * * *
* * * * *
Dated: November 10, 1994.
By the Commission.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94–28448 Filed 11–16–94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010–01-P
1 Both the Securities Act and the Exchange Act were enacted with broad exemptions for municipal securities from all of their provisions except the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act Section 17(a) and Exchange Act Section 10(b). Municipal securities received special exemptions not only based on considerations of federal-state comity, but also due to the tack of perceived abuses, at the time of enactment, in the municipal securities market as compared with the corporate market. Furthermore, until recently, the typical purchasers of municipal. securities were institutional investors with financial expertise.
2 Section 15(c)(2) of the Exchange Act prohibits municipal securities dealers from effecting any transaction in, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sate of, any municipal security by means of a "fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative act or practice," and authorizes the Commission, by rules and regulations, to define and prescribe means reasonably designed to prevent such acts and practices. Exchange Act Section 15(c)(2), 15 U.S.C. 78o(c)(2). Rule 15c2–12 also was adopted pursuant to the Commission's authority under Exchange Act Section 2, 3, 10, 15, 15B, and 23; 15 U.S.C. 78b, 78c, 78j, 78o, 78o-4, 78q, and 78w.
3 17 CFR 240.15C2–12. Rule 15c2–12 was proposed for adoption in 1988, and adopted in 1989. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 26100 (Sept. 22, 1988), 53 FR 37778 ("1988 Release"); Securities Exchange Act Release No. 26985 (June 28, 1989), 54 FR 28799 ("1989 Release"). Rule 15c2–12 requires an underwriter of municipal securities (1) to obtain and review an Issuer's official statement that, except for certain information, is "deemed final" by an issuer prior to making a purchase, offer, or sale of municipal securities; (2) in negotiated sales, to provide the issuer's most recent preliminary official statement (if one exists) to potential customers; (3) to deliver to customers, upon request, copies of the final official statement for a specified period of time; and (4) to contract to receive, within a specified time, sufficient copies of the issuer's final official statement to comply with the rule's delivery requirement, and the requirements of the rules of the MSRB.
4 The 1989 Release also stated that issuers are primarily responsible for the content of their disclosure documents, and may be held primarily liable under the federal securities laws for misleading disclosure. See 1989 Release at n. 84.
5 Since September, 1993, other initiatives related to the municipal securities market have been taken. On April 7, 1994, the Commission approved changes to MSRB rule G-19 concerning suitability of recommendations, and rule G-8 concerning recordkeeping. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33869 (April 7, 1994), 59 FR 17632. These changes are designed to ensure that dealers, before making recommendations to customers, take appropriate steps to determine that the transaction is suitable. Concurrently, the Commission approved MSRB rule G-37 relating to the linkage between political contributions and the municipal securities business. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33868 (April 7, 1994), 59 FR 17621. The rule seeks to end "pay to play" abuses in the municipal securities market by prohibiting dealers from conducting certain types of business with an issuer within two years after any contribution by the dealer or certain affiliated persons of the issuer who could influence the awarding of municipal securities business. On June 20, 1994, the MSRB filed with the Commission e proposal to amend MSRB rule G-14 concerning reports of sales or purchases, and procedures for reporting inter-dealer transactions. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34458 (July 28, 1994), 59 FR 39803. The proposed rule change is a first step to increase transparency in the municipal securities market by collecting and disseminating information on interdealer transactions. On December 19, 1993, the Commission issued a release proposing for public comment amendments to the rule regulating money market funds, Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Investment Company Act Release No. 19959 (Dec. 28, 1993), 58 FR 68585.
6 By 1993, individual investors, including those holding through mutual funds and money market funds, held approximately 76% of municipal debt outstanding, as compared with 44% in 1983. The Bond Bayer, "Holders of Municipal Debt," (July 1, 1994) at 5.
7 The municipal securities market is not the only market for debt securities that suffers from information inefficiencies. For that reason, the Commission also is exploring means to increase the amount of information concerning issuers of corporate debt securities. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34139 (June 7, 1994), 59 FR 29453.
8 Statement of Gerald McBride, Chairman, Municipal Securities Division, Public Securities Association, Before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee (October 7, 1993) at 5.
9 Securities Act Release No. 7049 (March 9, 1994). 59 FR 12748.
10 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33742 (March 9, 1994), 59 FR 12759. Also on March 9, the Commission published Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33743, which proposed the adoption of Rule 15c2–13. Proposed Rule 15C2–13 would have required brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers to disclose mark-up information in riskless principal transactions in municipal securities; and to disclose when a particular municipal security is not rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO"). Due to the recent development of proposals by the MSRB and market participants to make pricing information available to investors, the Commission has determined to defer the riskless principal mark-up proposal for six months. In addition, the portion of proposed Rule 15C2–13 that would require disclosure if a municipal security is not rated by an NRSRO has been deferred, and will be withdrawn if the MSRB acts to adopt similar amendments to its confirmation rule. Rule G-15. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34962 (November 10, 1994).
13 Participating Underwriters generally maintain a market in an issue of municipal securities in the period following an offering. Failure by a Participating Underwriter to receive assurances with respect to undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure will increase the difficulty of its formulation of a reasonable basis on which to recommend a municipal security during this period of-secondary-market trading.
14 Among others, the Commission received 232 letters representing the views of 242 issuers and issuer associations; 52 letters representing the views of 57 brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers; and 8 letters representing the views of 8 investors and investor associations.
15 The Commission has given consideration to the views of some commenters who questioned the Commission's authority to adopt the amendments to Rule 15C2–12. See, e.g.. Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood; Letter of NABL. The Commission believes that it has ample authority to adopt the amendments.
16 The comment letters and a summary of the comment letters prepared by Commission staff are contained in Public File No. S7–5-94. See also Public File No. S7–4-94.
17 See Joint Response to the Securities Exchange Commission on Releases Concerning Municipal Securities Market Disclosure prepared by American Bankers Association's Corporate Trust Committee, American Public Power Association, Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, Government Finance Officers Association. National Association of Counties, National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers, National Council of State Housing Agencies, National Federation of Municipal Analysts, Public Securities Association ("Joint Response").
18See, e.g., Joint Response; Letter of Chapman and Cutler; Letter of Florida Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration; Letter of J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc.; Letter of National Association of Bond Lawyers ("NABL"); Letter of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe ("Orrick Herrington"); Letter of Public Securities Association ("PSA").
19 See Rule 15c2–12(a).
20 The amendments also include an exemption for small and infrequent issuers. See Section II.D.1., infra.
21 Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i).
22 These concepts are discussed in Section II.A.1.b., infra.
23 Information repositories are discussed in Section II.C, infra.
24 See Letter of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith ("Merrill Lynch").
25 As noted in the 1988 Release, the obligations of managing underwriters and underwriters participating in an offering differ. An underwriter participating in an offering need not duplicate the efforts of the managing underwriter, but must satisfy itself that the managing underwriter reviewed the accuracy of the information in the official statement in a professional manner and therefore had a reasonable basis for its recommendation. Underwriters participating in offerings, however, have a duty to notify the managing underwriter of any factors that suggest inaccuracies in disclosure, or signal the need for additional investigation. See 1988 Release at n. 87.
26 See Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of Section of Urban, State and Local Government Law, American Bar Association ("ABA Urban Law Section"); Letter of Colorado Municipal Bond Supervisory Board.
27 In contrast to the requirement in Rule 15c2–12(b)(5] that Participating Underwriters reasonably determine that issuers or obligated persons have undertaken to provide secondary market disclosure prior to the time they "purchase or sell" municipal securities, Rule 15c2–12(b)(1) requires Participating Underwriters to obtain and review an official statement deemed final by the issuer ("DFOS") prior to the time they "bid for, purchase, offer, or sell" securities. Thus, under Rule 15c2-12(b)(1), in a competitive underwriting, a Participating Underwriter must obtain and review the DFOS prior to placing a bid on an issue of municipal securities. Because the term "offer" encompasses the distribution of a preliminary official statement, as well as oral solicitations of indications of interest, in a negotiated underwriting, a Participating Underwriter is required to obtain and review the DFOS prior to the time it distributes the preliminary official statement to potential investors. If no offers are made, the Participating Underwriter is required to obtain and review the DFOS by the earlier of the time it agrees (whether in principle or by signing the bond purchase agreement) to purchase the bonds, or the first sale of bonds. See Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon (April 4, 1990); Interpretive Release at Section HI.C6
28 Information regarding the offering price, interest rate, selling compensation, aggregate principal amount, principal amount per maturity, delivery dates, any other terms or provisions required by an issuer of such securities to be specified in a competitive bid, ratings, other terms of the securities depending on such matters, and the identity of the underwriters, may be omitted from the official statement reviewed by the Participating Underwriter for purposes of Rule 15c2–12(b)(1).
29 Whether information is in fact known or not reasonably ascertainable at the time the Participating Underwriter must obtain and review the DFOS pursuant to the rule is best determined in the context of each offering by the issuer, the Participating Underwriter, and their respective counsel. See Public Securities Association (May 29, 1992)
30 As a practical matter, the DFOS and the preliminary official statement ("POS") are often the same document. See Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon (April 4, 1990).
31 See Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, Guidelines for Information Disclosure to the Secondary Market (1992); Government Finance Officers Association, Disclosure Guidelines for State and Local Government Securities (Jan. 1991); Healthcare Financial Management Association, Principles and Practices Board, Statement Number 18—Public Disclosure of Financial and Operating Information by Healthcare Providers (May 1994); National Council of State Housing Agencies. Quarterly Reporting Format for State Housing Finance Agency Single Family Housing Bonds (1989) and Multi-family Disclosure Format (1991); National Federation of Municipal Analysts, Disclosure Handbook for Municipal Securities 1992 Update (Nov. 1992).
32See, e.g., Letter of Indiana Bond Bank; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of NABL; Letter of Texas Public Finance Authority; Letter of Goldman Sachs & Co. ("Goldman Sachs").
33See, e.g., Letter-of Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, State of Washington; Letter of American Public Power Association ("APPA"); Letter of Municipal Treasurer's Association; Letter of Orrick Herrington.
34See Rule 15c2–12(f)(3).
35See, e.g., Letter of Association of Local Housing Financing Agencies ("ALHFA"); Letter of Treasurer, State of Connecticut Office of the Treasurer ("Treasurer of the State of Connecticut"); Letter of Council of Development Finance Agencies ("CDFA"); Joint Response; Letter of Securities Industry Association ("SIA"); Letter of Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. ("Morgan Stanley").
36See 1989 Release.
37 Interpretive Release at Section III.B. The Interpretive Release is cited in the Preliminary Note to Rule 15c2–12 as a source of guidance as to the disclosure obligations of issuers of municipal securities, as well as the role of brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers.
38 See note 31, supra.
39 See Interpretive Release at Section III.A.
40 See Joint Response.
41 See Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Bose McKinney & Evans; Joint Response: Letter of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander ft Ferdon ("Mudge Rose"); Letter of Dormitory Authority of the State of New York ("New York Dormitory Authority").
42 See Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of New York Dormitory Authority.
43 See Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Kutak Rock: Letter of Texas Public Finance Authority.
44See, e.g., Letter of Bose McKinney & Evans; Joint Response. One commenter also stated that if cross referencing was permitted, there should be a delay between the distribution of the official statement and the offering. The delay would enable potential purchasers and others to obtain any materials that were referenced in the official statement and make an informed investment decision. See Letter of Prudential Investment Corp.
45 See 1989 Release (discussing the definition of "final official statement" in Rule 15c2–12 as originally adopted, and stating that the definition recognizes that the issuer's final official statement may be composed of one or more documents).
46 Rule 15c2–12(f)(3). To avoid confusion with the technical aspects of incorporation by reference for registrants under the Commission's registration rules, the amended rule does not use that term.
At least two states, New York and Texas, have prepared a standard disclosure document for state information.
47 Participating Underwriters and other market participants must keep in mind their obligations under the rule with respect to the DFOS and final official statement, and under the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. To the extent that cross references are used, the DFOS should be disseminated in sufficient time for review by Participating Underwriters, and the POS should be made available in time to enable prospective purchasers to make informed investment decisions based upon the referenced materials. See Interpretive Release at Section m.C.6.
48See, e.g., Letter of New York Dormitory Authority; Letter of the Treasurer of the State of Connecticut.
49See, e.g., Letter of Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates; Letter of State of Florida, Office of Auditor General; Letter of San Francisco International Airport; Letter of Texas Water Development Board; Letter of State of Washington. Office of the Treasurer.
50 Rule 15c2–12(f)(3).
51 See Interpretive Release at Section III.C.4.
52See, e.g., Letter of Chemical Securities, Inc. ("Chemical Securities"); Letter of Ferris Baker Watts; Letter of National Federation of Municipal Analysts ("NFMA").
53 See Rule 15c2–12(f)(3).
54 See Letter of PSA.
55 Paragraph (b)(5)(i)(A) of the Proposed Amendments.
56See, e.g., Letter of Fidelity Management and Research Company; Letter of First Albany Corporation; Letter of Maine Municipal Bond Bank; Letter of NABL; Letter of National Council of Health Facilities Finance Authorities ("NCHFFA"); Letter of Realvest Capital Corporation; Letter of South Carolina Economic Developers Association, Inc.
57See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Gilmore & Bell, P.C. ("Gilmore & Bell"); Letter of New York State Housing Finance Agency, State of New York Mortgage Agency, New York State Medical Care Facilities Finance Agency ("New York State Housing Finance Agency"); Letter of Orrick Herrington.
58See, e.g., Letter of Section of Business Law, American Bar Association ("ABA Business Law Section"); Letter of Treasurer of the State of California ("Treasurer of the State of California"); Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of IDS Financial Corporation; Joint Response; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of National Association of State Treasurers ("NAST").
59 Providers of bond insurance, letters of credit, and liquidity facilities have been excepted from the definition of obligated person to eliminate the need to separately obtain and disseminate annual information about such providers. See Section II.A.1.b.(1), infra.
60See, e.g., Letter of American Municipal Power—Ohio, Inc. ("AMP—Ohio"); Letter of Gilmore & Bell; Letter of Treasurer of the State of California.
61See, e.g., Letter of Financial Guaranty Insurance Company ("FGIC"); Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood; Letter of Thacher Proffitt & Wood.
62See, e.g., Letter of Kutak Rock.
63See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of State of Washington. Office of the Treasurer.
64See, e.g., Letter of APPA; Letter of George K. Baum & Co.; Letter of CDFA; Letter of Eaton Vance Management; Letter of NCHFFA.
65See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Electricities, Inc.; Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of San Francisco International Airport.
66See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of A.G. Edwards 4 Sons, Inc.; Letter of Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities ("CIFA"); Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood; Letter of Program Administration Services, Inc.
67See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section: Letter of APPA; Letter of City of Everett, Washington; Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood; Letter of Merrill Lynch; Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of Orrick Herrington. Certain of these commenters noted that by including a contractual or similar relationship between the entity making payments and the financing, customers and taxpayers, having no connection to or responsibility in connection with the financing would not inadvertently be swept within the scope of the definition.
68See, e.g., Letter of APPA; Letter of George K. Baum & Co.; Letter of City of Everett, Washington: Letter of IDS Financial Corporation; Letter of Standish, Ayer & Wood, Inc.
69See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of ALHFA; Letter of PSA.
70See, e.g., Letter of FGIC; Joint Response; Letter of NABU Letter of PSA.
71 See Rule 15c2–12(f)(10).
72See, e.g., Letter of BoseMcKinney & Evans; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of New York Dormitory Authority; Letter of Orrick Herrington.
73 See, e.g., Letter of Bose McKinney & Evans; Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of Indiana Bond Bank: Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood.
74 For example, if all or a portion of a project financed by bonds is used by a party that has committed, by contract or other arrangement (written or oral) to pay for such use, and such payments support payment of debt service on the bonds (as structured at the time of issuance), continuing information on the party would be appropriate. Accordingly, parties that support debt service through payments under a lease, loan, instalment sale agreement, or other contract relating to use of a project are included in the definition, regardless of whether the financing is a conduit arrangement (such as a non-recourse loan to a manufacturer to finance acquisition of a new facility or to a hospital to acquire equipment) or system or project financing (such as a lease to a particular carrier of a terminal in an airport system or sale of the output of a facility pursuant to a take-or-pay (or take-and-pay) contract). Major customers purchasing power from a municipal light department that, ill turn, is under a take-or-pay contract with a joint action public power agency would not be included in the definition, although the municipal light department would likely be included in the definition. Similarly, major taxpayers in a municipal general obligation issue would not be included in the definition; however, an undertaking covering a developer that is the sole landowner in a development district assessment financing in which the future collection of assessments to service the borrowing is dependent upon the developer as part of the structure of the financing may be appropriate.
75 17 CFR 239.131.
76 17 CFR 240.3b-5
77See, eg., Letter of Fidelity Management and Research Company; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of NABL; Letter of Texas Public Finance Authority.
78 See Rule 15c2–12(bK5)(i).
79 Under the revised amendments, the concerns of some commenters that the definition of significant obligor failed to take into account short term arrangements (i.e. the arrangements with persons providing cash flow were shorter than the term of the securities) is also alleviated in two ways. First, the issuer determines at the outset if an obligated person is material to the offering. Second, assuming an obligated person is included in the final official statement, the undertaking to continue to provide information on such obligated person may be terminated once it no longer has liability for any obligation on or relating to repayment of the municipal securities. See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(iii); Letter of APPA; Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood.
80 Guidelines and practices that have developed in other contexts may be useful in analyzing both the materiality of an obligated person to the municipal financing and the appropriate level of disclosure relating to such obligated person. For example, in connection with securitization of non recourse commercial mortgage loans, the 10 percent and 20 percent property assets concentration tests described in Staff Accounting Bulletins 71 and 71A are applied. These percentages are applied by analogy in other asset-backed financings.
81 Although the amendments do not specify the scope of the objective criteria, the criteria description should be clear as to when and how they are applied.
82 See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(ii).
83See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section: Letter of Blackwell Industrial Authority, Blackwell. Oklahoma; Letter of Davis Polk & Wardwell; Letter of IDS Financial Corporation; Letter of Kutak Rock: Letter of Oregon Economic Development Department; Letter of Realvest Capital Corporation; Letter of Thacher Proffitt & Wood. Some commenters also were concerned as to whether the definition would encompass providers of guaranteed investment contracts and other investments. See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Kutak Rock, on behalf of AMBAC Indemnity Corporation, Capital Markets Assurance Corporation, Capital Reinsurance Company, Enhance Reinsurance Company, Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, Financial Security Assurance, Inc., and Municipal Bond Investors Assurance Corporation ("Kutak Rock on behalf of Financial Guaranty Insurers"). A functional approach determines whether providers of investments should provide ongoing information. For example, if the proceeds of an Offering are invested in guaranteed investment contracts ("GICs"), and the income from the GICs is the predominant source of revenue to repay the obligations on the securities, information about the provider may be material to the Offering, including on an ongoing oasis. If, however, other sources of revenue are committed to support payment of the obligations, the relative importance of the provider of the GIC to investors may be diminished.
84See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Smith, Gambrell & Russell; Letter of Texas Water Development Board. Some commenters noted difficulty in obtaining information from credit enhancers. See Letter of Association of Bay Area Governments; Letter of New York State Housing Finance Agency; Letter of State of Washington, Office of the Treasurer.
85See, e.g., Memorandum of August 10, 1994 Meeting with Davis. Polk and Wardwell and Various Banks: Letter of Kutak Rock on Behalf of Financial Guaranty Insurers. One commenter recommended that bond insurers and banks providing letters of credit, who are not subject to periodic reporting requirements of the federal securities laws, send publicly available reports to the repositories. See Letter of ABA Urban Law Section.
86 The term "issuer of municipal securities," as defined in Rule 15c2–12 includes issuers of separate securities as well.
87See, e.g., Letter of ALHFA; Letter of Hawkins Dekfield & Wood; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of National State Auditors Association; Letter of the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina.
88See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section: Letter of ALHFA: Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of NABL.
89See, e.g., Letter of Bond Investors Association; Letter of PSA; Letter of Texas Public Finance Authority.
90See, e.g., Letter of Bank One Corporation; Letter of Reliance Trust Company; Letter of State Street Bank and Trust Company.
91 Rule 15c2–12(f)(9).
92See, e.g., Letter of Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. ("Dean Witter"); Letter of National League of Cities; Letter of NFMA; Joint Response; Letter of PSA; Letter of Tillinghast, Collins & Graham; Letter of the Treasurer of the State of Connecticut.
93See, e.g., Letter of Dam Bosworth, Inc.; Letter of First Albany Corporation; Letter of MSRB; Letter of NFMA; Letter of Standish, Ayer & Wood, Inc.
94 See, e.g., Letter of CDFA; Letter of Chapman and Cutler; Letter of CIFA; Joint Response; Letter of H.M. Quackenbush; Letter of NABL.
95See, e.g. Letter of Texas Water Development Board; Letter of State of Washington. Office of the Treasurer.
96See, e.g., Letter of City of Barling; Letter of Dain Bosworth, Inc.; Letter of Friday, Eldridge a Clark.
97See, e.g., Letter of AMP—Ohio; Letter of State of Indiana, State Board of Accounts; Letter of State of Montana, Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; Letter of Washington Finance Officers Association.
98See, e.g., Letter of AMP—Ohio; Letter of Washington Finance Officers Association.
99See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section: Letter of Florida Division of Bond Finance; Letter of Gust & Rosenfeld; Letter of Office of the State Auditor, Texas ("Texas Office of the State Auditor").
100See, e.g., Letter of Treasurer of the State of North Carolina; Letter of Texas-Office of the State Auditor.
101See, e.g., Letter of the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina; Letter of Texas Office of the Stale Auditor.
102See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of APPA; Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of Gust & Rosenfeld; Letter of The Hospital & Higher Education Facilities Authority of Philadelphia: Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of NABL; Letter of New York State Housing Finance Agency.
103 See Letter of ABA Urban Law Section.
104See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Association of Bay Area Governments: Letter of North East Independent School District: Letter of PSA; Letter of Washington Finance Officers Association.
105See, e.g., Letter of the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina; Letter of Washington Finance Officers Association.
106 See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(B).
107 See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(ii)(B).
108 See Proposing Release. A number of commenters responded to the request for comment on specification of the use of generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and generally accepted auditing standards ("GAAS"). See, e.g., Letter of Comptroller of the State of California; Letter of Government Accounting Standards Board ("CASB"); Letter of NAST; Letter of National State Auditors Association; Letter of Prudential Investment Corp. The amendments as adopted do not mandate the use of either GAAP or GAAS.
109 See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(ii)(B).
110 Of course, any required information must be the subject of an undertaking, and if the information cross referenced has not been submitted to a repository or the MSRB, or filed with the Commission, the undertaking will not have been complied with.
111 Paragraph (b)(5)(i)(A) of the Proposed Amendments.
112See, e.g., Letter of APPA; Letter of Fidelity Management and Research Company; Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood.
113See, e.g., Letter of Chapman and Cutler; Joint Response; Letter of Kutak Rock.
114 See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(iii).
115 See paragraph (b)(5)(i)(B) of the Proposed Amendments. See also, Letter of A.G. Edwards; Letter of Chemical Securities; Letter of J.J. Kenny Co., Inc. ("J.J. Kenny Co."); Letter of MSRB.
116See, e.g., Letter of Chemical Securities; Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of George K. Baum; Letter of PSA.
117See, e.g., Letter of CDFA; Letter of Gust & Rosenfeld; Joint Response; Letter of Municipal Treasurers Association; Letter of Rauscher Pierce Refsnes. Inc.: Letter of Standish Ayer & Wood, Inc.
118 See, e.g., Letter of Chemical Securities; Letter of Edward D. Jones & Co.; Letter of Finance Authority of Maine; Letter of Ferris Baker Watts; Letter of Norwest Investment Services. Inc.; Letter of Prudential Investment Corp.
119 The introduction to the list also has been clarified to indicate that the events relate specifically to the securities being offered. See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(C).
120See, e.g., Letter of NAST; Letter of the Treasurer of State of California.
121 Several commenters have expressed concern that statements by various elected officials made in a political context relating to an issuer must now be included in information provided to a repository. The amendments contain no such requirement. Moreover, these concerns appear to be based upon a misunderstanding of the reminder to issuers in the Interpretive Release that investors may rely on a variety of formal and informal sources for continuing information on municipal issuers, including public statements and press releases concerning an entity's fiscal affairs made by municipal officials, particularly in the absence of a more standardized mechanism for disseminating information about the municipal issuer to the market as a whole. The caution contained in the Interpretive Release that the antifraud provisions may apply to releases of information to the public reasonably expected to reach investors and the trading market does not mean, as some commenters inferred, that such statements are per se material; nor do the amendments require trial such statements, even where material, be provided to the repositories.
122See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of NABL; Letter of NCHFFA; Letter of New York State Housing Finance Agency; Letter of Orrick Herrington.
123See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(C)(10).
124See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of Orrick Herrington,
125See, e.g., Letter of First Southwest Company: Letter of New York Dormitory Authority; Letter of the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina; Letter of City of Pullman, Washington.
126 See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(D).
127See, e.g., Letter of Gust & Rosenfeld.
128See, e.g., Letter of Merrill Lynch. Certain commenters considered that undertakings in a trust indenture could prove inflexible, as well as difficult to modify if they became inappropriate in the future. Letter of ABA Business Law Section. Other commenters considered that the issue of flexibility could be addressed through careful drafting. Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of Rauscher, Pierce, Refsnes, Inc.
129See Letter of Chapman and Cutler (suggesting that an agreement could be made between an issuer and a trustee or between the issuer and a NRMSIR); Letter of Rauscher, Pierce, Refsnes, Inc. These commenters noted that such agreements provide flexibility for the future modification of the type, timing, or presentation of secondary market disclosure, as well as remedies in the event of a breach of the agreement.
130See e.g., Letter of Mudge Rose.
131See Letter of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley also suggested that an underwriting agreement was an unsatisfactory vehicle for undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure because an underwriter of a specific bond issue should not be the recipient of a long-term contract of this type. See Letter of Morgan Stanley. Other commenters agreed that undertakings should be for the benefit of holders of municipal securities, and that there should be no requirement that undertakings be made for the benefit of Participating Underwriters. See, e.g., Letter of Merrill Lynch (noting that "the holders of the securities have the greatest interest in enforcing the covenant to provide information and are in the best position to evaluate whether affirmative efforts to enforce the covenant should be undertaken").
132 Some commenters were concerned that in some jurisdictions, an issuer's ability to agree to provide information beyond a one year period might be restricted by state law. To address such concerns, inclusion of a condition subsequent in the covenant, such as subject to appropriation, might be appropriate. It is anticipated, however, that should funds that would enable the issuer to provide the agreed upon information not be appropriated, disclosure of such fact would be made by notice to the repositories pursuant to Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(D).
133See, e.g., Letter of Chemical Securities; Letter of Dain Bosworth, Inc.; Letter of Dillon, Read & Co., Inc.
134 Commenters argued that an issuer's failure to comply with undertakings to provide secondary market disclosure should not result in an event of default. See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of State of Washington, Office of the Treasurer; Letter of Colorado Municipal Bond Supervision Advisory Board.
135See paragraph (c) of the Proposed Amendments.
136See Letter of PSA (noting that paragraph (c) would require dealers to create records showing that they had reviewed municipal securities).
137See, e.g., Letter of Chapman and Cutler (brokers with fewer analysts will be at a competitive disadvantage); Letter of Morgan Stanley (noting that in order to comply with paragraph (c) as proposed, reliance on third-party service providers for information analysis would be required).
138See, e.g., Joint Response; Letter of PSA; Letter of Gabriel, Hueglin & Cashman.
139See, e.g., Joint Response; Letter of PSA.
140 Letter of Investment Company Institute ("ICI"). See also Letter of MSRB; Letter of NABL. NABL suggested disclosure by dealers as to whether a party has committed to provide secondary market disclosure, and if not, the consequences of investing in the securities.
141See, e.g., Letter of Edward D. Jones & Co. (suggesting application of the Proposed Amendments only to non-rated or special assessment bonds); Letter of NABL (suggesting exemptions from the amendments to Rule 15c2–12 for issuers that obtain and maintain an investment grade rating, and for general obligation bonds and revenue bonds issued to finance essential government purposes).
142See, e.g., Letter of PSA; Letter of A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. (reviewing issuer's disclosure is not the only way to form the basis for a recommendation).
143 As noted in the Proposing Release, most situations in which a dealer brings a municipal security to the attention of a customer involve no implicit recommendation of the security to the customer.
144See, e.g., Letler of MSRB (emphasizing that, in the Board's view, dealers would be responsible for continuing disclosure information available in NRMSIRs even without the specific "review" requirement); Letter of Paine Webber.
145 Letter of MSRB (noting the requirements of the MSRB's rules in commenting that the Proposed Amendment's requirement to review periodic information is not a practical option for dealers).
146See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(D).
147 See MSRB Manual (CCH) ¶ 13561.30 (interpreting MSRB rule G-17 to require that a dealer disclose, at or prior to a sale, all material facts concerning the transaction, including a complete description of the security). See also 1988 Release at n. 50 and accompanying text.
148 Under Rule 15c2–12(b)(4). underwriters must deliver final official statements to potential customers for a 90 day period after the close of the underwriting period. The underwriters' 90 day delivery obligation is shortened to 25 days if the final official statement can be obtained from a NRMSIR.
149 Since the Commission adopted Rule 15c2–12, the Division of Market Regulation issued three no-action letters recognizing national information vendors as NRMSIRS, based on the standards set out in the July 1989 Release. See Letters from Richard G. Ketchum, Director, Division of Market Regulation to: Joseph V. Riccobono, Executive Vice-President, American Banker-Bond Buyer (Jan. 4, 1990); J. Kevin Kenny, President, Chief Executive Officer, J.J. Kenny Co. (Jan. 4, 1990); and Michael R. Bloomberg, President, Bloomberg, L.P. (Jan. 11, 1990). Recently, the Commission has received inquiries from additional information vendors desiring to be recognized as NRMSIRs.
150 NRMSIRs are not the only source of information in the municipal market. The MSRB has developed its Municipal Securities Information Library ("MSIL") system, which presently collects information and disseminates it to market participants and information vendors. The Official Statement and Advance Refunding Document-Paper Submission System ("OS/ARD") of the MSIL collects and makes available on magnetic tape and on paper official statements and advance refunding notices. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 29298 (June 13, 1991), 56 FR 28194. As a part of the MSIL system, the MSRB commenced operation of its Continuing Disclosure Information ("CDI") pilot system in January, 1993. The CDI system is a central repository for voluntarily submitted official continuing disclosure documents relating to outstanding municipal securities issues. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 30556 (April 6, 1992) 57 FR 12534. Neither the MSIL OS/ARD system nor the CDI system is a NRMSIR; the Commission has previously indicated that it would consider the competitive implications of a MSRB request for NRMSIR status. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 28081 (June 1, 1990), 55 FR 23333, 23337 n.26.
151See, e.g., Letter of PSA (noting that the suggestion made by some market participants that municipal securities dealers will not utilize information they have long sought is implausible). Letter of Ferris Baker Watts (information will be used if it is available).
152 The Commission suggested that NRMSIRs (a) maintain current, accurate information about municipal securities, including final official statements, the issuer's annual final information, and issuer's notices of material events; (b) have effective systems for the timely collection, indexing, storage and retrieval of these documents; and (c) be capable of national dissemination of final official statements, annual financial information, and notices of material events through electronic dissemination systems, in response to telephone inquiries, and hard copy delivery via facsimile, by mail and by messenger service. The Commission also stressed the importance of timely public availability upon receipt of information by a NRMSIR.
153See, e.g., Letter of Bloomberg L.P.; Letter of Cypress Capital Corp. (a dealer chosen by the Louisiana Municipal Association to assist it in developing a repository to collect and disseminate information on Louisiana issuers of municipal securities). In discussing NRMSIRs in the 1989 Release, the Commission noted that in determining whether a particular entity is a NRMSIR, it would look, among other things, at whether the repository: (1) is national in scope; (2) maintains current, accurate information about municipal offerings in the form of official statements; (3) has effective retrieval and dissemination systems; (4) places no limit on the issuers from which it will accept official statements or related information; (5) provides access to the documents deposited with it to anyone willing and able to pay the applicable fees; and (6) charges reasonable fees. See 1989 Release at n. 65.
154 In the past, the Division of Market Regulation has required that each NRMSIR maintain copies of all disclosure documents. In view of recent requests from information collectors and disseminators, the Division of Market Regulation will review, on a case by case basis, NRMSIR proposals to satisfy the requirement to maintain copies of disclosure documents through a contract with another entity (including the MSRB) that will maintain copies. See Letters from Laurence M. Landau, Vice President, Dow Jones Telerate, to Elizabeth MacGregor. Division of Market Regulation, SEC, (July 16, 1994) and to Cautam S. Gujral, Division of Market Regulation, SEC (August 4, 1994). See also Letter of Storch & Brenner (on behalf of R.R. Donnelly Financial). This flexible approach, requested by industry participants, may allow NRMSIRs to reduce the cost at which they can collect end disseminate disclosure information to broker-dealers and investors.
155 It should be noted that NRMSIRs are not being required to verify the accuracy of the information provided them. NRMSIRs are required to accurately convey the information provided to them.
156 See 1989 Release.
157See, e.g., Letter of Maine Municipal Bond Bank; Letter of National Association of Independent Public Financial Advisers (NRMSIR users, not issuers, should pay the NRMSIR costs).
158See, e.g., Letter of Colonial Management Associates, Inc.
159 Letter of Bloomberg L.P.; Letter of J.J. Kenny Co.; Letter of The Bond Buyer.
160 With one notable exception, national information vendors generally did not see a need for state-based repositories and argued that state-based repositories would indeed add to the complexity of collecting and disseminating information. See, e.g., Letter of J.J. Kenny Co. Some state-based information gatherers and disseminators, however, argued that they already had created mechanisms for the collection and dissemination of information, and their systems ere working well. The National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers ("NASACT") pointed out that issuers and other obligors will probably file with state-based repositories, with whom they are accustomed to working and with whom they typically must file in any event for regulatory purposes unrelated to secondary market disclosure. NASACT argued that while the state repositories do not wish to compete with NRMSIRs, stale-based repositories can serve an important role in enhancing the accessibility of disclosure information for repackaging by the NRMSIRs. See Letter of NASACT.
161See Letter of the Office of the State Comptroller, State of New York.
162See, e.g., Letter of Cypress Capital Corporation (Louisiana Municipal Security Disclosure Board "intends to be in a position to comply with the standards developed by the Commission for NRMSIRs").
163 See letter of Municipal Advisory Council of Texas; Letter of Ohio Municipal Advisory Council.
164 South Carolina recently enacted legislation requiring issuers to agree in a bond indenture to file an annual independent audit within a specified number of days of the issuer's receipt thereof and certain event information with a central repository South Carolina Senate Bill 1182, (effective September 1, 1994) to be codified in S.C. Code Ann Chapter 1, Title 11. Section 11–1-85 (1976). Similarly, Tennessee recently adopted legislation authorizing the adoption of rules to facilitate secondary market disclosure by any public entity, including the form and content of that disclosure. Tenn. Code Ann. Sec. 9–21–151 (a) and (b)(2).
165See, e.g., Letter of the Office of the State Comptroller, State of New York.
166 See Section II.D.1. infra.
167 There is no requirement that SIDs be instrumentalities of a state. A number of private organizations already function as state-based repositories, at times at no cost to the taxpayer. The Commission defers to each state's determination whether to have a private or public entity be its SFD.
168 As with NRMSIRs, for a SID to give preferential treatment to a NRMSIR by giving it market information before it is made available to other NRMSIRs would be wholly inconsistent with functioning as a SID.
169 Letter of Bloomberg L.P.
170See, e.g., Artemis Capital Group, Ltd. (proposing that the Commission designate the MSRB's MSIL system as the single central repository); Letter of Chapman and Cutler (there should be one central source of information).
171See, e.g., Letter of J.J. Kenny Co.; Letter of National Association of Independent Public Financial Advisers.
172See, e.g., Letter of MSRB; Letter of Richard A. Ciccarone.
173 Letter of Storch & Brenner (on behalf of R.R. Donnelly Financial); Letter of The Bond Buyer.
174 The Ohio Municipal Advisory Council stated that it is feasible to require repositories to inform the MSRB as to which issuers have released information to it Under Cypress Capital Corporation's proposal, the indexing party would receive descriptions of all materials received by the Louisiana Repository. But see, Letter of NASACT (requirement that a repository be required to notify a central index each time an item of information is received by the repository is unduly burdensome and unnecessary).
175 Some commenters expressed an interest in creating a central index and an information sharing system. Letter of Storch A Brenner (on behalf of R.R. Donnelly Financial); Letter of Dow Jones Telerate, Inc. The Commission is prepared to review such mechanisms for centralized collection and dissemination if requested to do so.
176 The Commission considers "turnaround time" or "turnaround period" to mean the time between which a NRMSIR initially receives information, and the time when such information is made available to the public. NRMSIRs will be required to make available the full text of notices of material events, and post the receipt and availability of other documents within the designated turnaround time period.
177 The Bond Buyer stated that it broadcasts, through its Munifacts News product, material events and time critical announcements within 15 minutes of their receipt to municipal market participants throughout the country. It stated that it also posts documents within 24 hours of a document's receipt to the Bond Buyer's On-line Index which is updated throughout the day. Letter of The Bond Buyer. Similarly, Dow Jones Telerate stated that electronic dissemination will allow the turnaround time of 24 hours for an official statement and 15 minutes for secondary disclosure documents on material events to be feasible. Letter of Dow Jones Telerate. Material information is electronically disseminated on a "real time" basis by Bloomberg L.P. Letter of Bloomberg L.P.
178 J.J. Kenny Co. requested that documents be required to be filed as images of original source documents rather than exclusively as coded text. Dow Jones Telerate requested that Official statements be filed along with one electronic disk copy of the original Word Processing/Desktop publishing file with the label marked as to which software and version was used. For secondary market disclosure documents, Telerate advises using the NFMA proposed worksheets. The Bond Buyer stated that "collection would be most efficient if documents were in ASCII and a common word processing or publishing format"
179 Former paragraph (c) of Rule 15c2–12 was proposed to be, and has been redesignated as paragraph (d)(1). This paragraph exempts primary offerings of municipal securities in authorized denominations of $100,000 or more, if such securities: (1) are sold to no more than 35 investors, each of whom the underwriter reasonably believes is capable of evaluating the investment and who is not purchasing with a view to distribution; (2) have a maturity of nine months or less or; (3) at the option of the holder may be tendered to an issuer at least as frequently as every nine months.
180See, e.g. Letter of ALHFA; Letter of CDFA; Letter of NFMA; Letter of National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors; Letter of Prudential Investment Corp.; Letter of PSA: Letter of Washington State Auditor.
181See, e.g., Letter of NAST: Letter of SIA.
182See, e.g. Letter of Chemical Securities; Letter of Eaton Vance Management; Letter of Edward D. Jones & Co.; Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors; Letter of Norwest Investment Services.
183See, e.g., Letter of APPA; Letter of The Bank of New York; Joint Response.
184 See Rule 15c2–12(d)(2).
185 See Joint Response. A number of other commenters expressed concern about the lack of information on issuers in market segments in which the higher proportion of defaults have occurred. See note 182, supra and accompanying text. The effective date for this information undertaking condition on the small issuer exemption will be delayed until January 1, 1996. See Section II.E., infra.
186 See Letter of The Bond Buyer.
187 See Letter of The Bond Buyer. The requirements of Rule 15c2–12, as amended, may not be avoided by breaking up an offering into several offerings of less than $1,000,000, where the offerings are of the same class of securities and are for the same purpose.
188See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of CIFA; Letter of Colorado Municipal Bond Supervision Advisory Board.
189See, e.g., Letter of ALHFA; Letter of CDFA: Letter of Hawkins Delafield & Wood.
190See, e.g., Letter of Alaska Municipal Bond Bank; Letter of Bose, McKinney & Evans; Letter of CDFA; Letter of Oregon Economic Development Department.
191See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Chapman and Cutler, Letter of NABL.
192 Significant indicia of whether an issuer in a revenue-type financing is in fact a part of a larger municipality would be whether the issuer's accounts are reflected in the municipality's financial statements and whether the municipality's officials or personnel manage the separate Financing programs.
193See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Day Berry & Howard; Joint Response; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina.
194See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of National League of Cities.
195See, e.g., Letter of Bank One Corporation; Letter of Reliance Trust Company.
196See, e.g., Letter of ICI; Letter of McDonald & Company Securities; Letter of NABL; Letter of National League of Cities: Letter of NFMA; Letter of New York Dormitory Authority; Letter of Putnam Investment Management; Letter of State of Utah, Office of the State Treasurer: Letter of State of Washington. Office of the State Treasurer.
197See, e.g., Letter of Delaware County Industrial Development Authority; Letter of Financial Security Assurance; Letter of McNair & Sanford; Letter of Smith, Gambrell A Russell.
198 As some commenters indicated, the existence of credit enhancement or other programmatic enhancement features does not eliminate the need for information on underlying obligated persons, particularly where there is a long term guarantee, because of the potential impact of a default on the pricing of the securities. See Letter of Kutak Rock on behalf of Financial Guaranty Insurers; Letter of FGIC; Letter of Prudential Investment Corp. See also Securities and Exchange Commission, Report by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the Financial Guaranty Market: The Use of the Exemption In Section 3(a)(2) of the Securities Act for Securities Guaranteed by Banks and the Use of Insurance Policies to Guarantee Debt Securities (August 28, 1987).
199 See, e.g., Letter of ABA Business Law Section; Letter of Goldman Sachs; Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of Thacher Proffitt & Wood.
200See, e.g., Letter of Morgan Stanley; Letter of Mudge Rose; Letter of New York Dormitory Authority.
201 Interpretive Release at Section III.D. See also Letter of The Bond Buyer.
202 Rule 15c2–12(d)(3).
203See, e.g., Letter of ABA Urban Law Section: Letter of Chemical Securities; Letter of Day, Berry & Howard; Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development.
204See paragraph (d)(3) of the Proposed Amendments.
205 This exemption has been modified to clarify that the recommendation prohibition will not apply to primary or secondary market trading where municipal securities are exempt at the time of their original issuance. Several commenters noted that the inclusion of the term "a primary offering of" created confusion, based on the stated purpose of the exemption in the Proposing Release. See, e.g . Letter of Kutak Rock; Letter of ABA Urban Law Section; Letter of Colorado Municipal Bond Supervision Advisory Board; Letter of Day, Berry & Howard. The exemption has been modified to delete that term, thus giving the exemption its intended meaning.
206See paragraph (d)(1) of the Proposed Amendments.
207See paragraph (d)(2) of the Proposed Amendments.
208 Rule 15c2–12(d)M).
209See Rule 15c2–12(d)(2).
210See Rule 15c2–12(b)(5)(i)(C).
211 Former paragraph (d) of Rule 15c2-12.
212 The transactional exemption also has been redesignated as paragraph (e) of Rule 15c2–12.
213 See Rule 15c2–12(g).
214 15 U.S.C. 78w(a)(2).
215 5 U.S.C. 604.