Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-SEC taps Treasury's Cross as municipal bond office head

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UPDATE 1-SEC taps Treasury's Cross as municipal bond office head Aug 2nd 2012, 21:43 Thu Aug 2, 2012 5:43pm EDT Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission named U.S. Treasury official John Cross III as head of its Office of Municipal Securities on Thursday, bringing in the former bond attorney to head a department made more prominent by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The news comes just days after the SEC released a 150-page report, two years in the making, that advocated extending the commission's regulatory reach and beefing up disclosure and price transparency in the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market. "We are delighted to be able to fill the position with someone as qualified as John. His experience will help us move our municipal securities initiatives forward," said Commissioner Elisse Walter, author of the report, in an email. The office, once part of the SEC's trading division, has gone without a director for a year. Dodd-Frank called for it to be a stand-alone office reporting directly to the commission's chairman and administering rules regarding advisers, issuers, broker-dealers and investors and coordinating with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. In a statement, Cross said he would work to advance initiatives included in the report and to "promote sound disclosure, sensible practices, and enhanced price transparency." He will take on the new role next month. Since Dodd-Frank required stricter oversight of municipal advisers, the SEC has wrestled with defining exactly who counts as an adviser. It is currently revising a proposed definition released in December 2010 after it received hundreds of comments that the proposal would ensnare too many people. "John brings valuable expertise to the SEC, and will help facilitate the implementation of new rules for municipal advisers and promote additional protections for investors and state and local government issuers," said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly in a statement. Cross has been a prominent figure in the municipal bond market, frequently speaking to the commission, which enforces the rules the self-regulatory MSRB writes, and groups such as the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Through his position as Associate Tax Legislative Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at Treasury, which he has held since 2006, he shepherded municipal bond policy through the 2008 financial crisis and helped administer programs in the 2009 federal stimulus plan, namely the now-expired Build America Bonds program. He has also worked at the bond law firm Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP and the Internal Revenue Service. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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