Important Developments in the Municipal Bond Market
A number of regulatory and legislative developments will alter the municipal securities market significantly in the upcoming months. Among these developments are amendments to Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 that will enlarge the continuing disclosure obligations of municipal bond issuers, increased post-issuance diligence obligations for issuers of Direct Pay Build America Bonds, guidance on potential offsets by the Federal government to subsidy payments owed to issuers of Direct Pay BABs, and the effects of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. This client alert summarizes these recent developments and offers an overview of consequent changes in the operation of the municipal marketplace for the remainder of this calendar year.
In addition, this alert addresses the status of the extension of authorization for certain tax credit bond structures originally enacted by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA"), including Build America Bonds and Recovery Zone Bonds, as well as the extension of certain favorable tax law provisions under ARRA relevant to municipal bonds in general.
