Reuters: Regulatory News: US bond ballot campaign donations could receive greater scrutiny

Reuters: Regulatory News Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

US bond ballot campaign donations could receive greater scrutiny Aug 15th 2012, 17:55 WASHINGTON | Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:55pm EDT WASHINGTON Aug 15 (Reuters) - The watchdog for the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market released a proposal on Wednesday for what information dealers should make public about their donations to bond ballot campaigns, moving ahead in a push for greater information about their political contributions. The market already has strict "pay-to-play" rules on donating to political campaigns for public office. Now, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has turned its attention to what money Wall Street gives toward persuading voters to approve ballot measures for taxpayer-financed projects. Information collected under the proposal would assist in "our ongoing study of the perceived correlation between giving bond ballot campaign support and getting underwriting business," said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly in a statement. "Even the appearance of 'pay-to-play' can undermine public confidence in the municipal market," she added. In many elections, cities and counties put measures on their ballots asking voters about selling bonds for specific public works projects. Under the proposal, municipal finance professionals would have to disclose the timing of their campaign donations, the entity that would issue the bonds if the measure is approved, and any primary offerings resulting from passage of the measure that would intersect with their business. After it receives comments, the board, a self-regulatory organization that writes the rules the Securities and Exchange Commission enforces, will make any revisions and then submit the proposal to the SEC for approval. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions