MSRB seeks comment on proposed rule change for municipal adviser assessments

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, July 26 - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced that it filed a proposed rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a new interim municipal adviser assessment under new Rule A-11.

The proposed interim assessment would consist of an annual assessment equal to $300 for each assessable professional reported or required to be reported by a municipal adviser to the MSRB.

The board is looking for feedback on a draft survey seeking information from municipal advisers on the nature of the municipal advisery activities they undertake as well as the manner and level of compensation received.

Based on the feedback, the MSRB will consider whether to replace the interim assessment with a permanent form of assessment on municipal advisers.

As of now, the MSRB said in a notice that it levies five types of fees payable by market participants regulated by the MSRB, including:

• A one-time initial fee of $100 assessed under Rule A-12 and payable by brokers, dealers, municipal securities dealers and municipal advisers;

• An annual fee of $500 assessed under Rule A-14;

• An underwriting fee of $0.03 per $1,000 par value of municipal securities purchased in a primary offering assessed under Rule A-13;

• A transaction fee of $0.01 per $1,000 par value of sale transactions of municipal securities assessed under Rule A-13; and

• A technology fee of $1.00 for each sale transaction of municipal securities assessed under Rule A-13 and payable by brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers.

Based on historical collections, the MSRB said it expects that the share paid by municipal advisers for the current fiscal year will be less than 3%.

By no later than Aug. 12, electronic comments may be submitted to the MSRB via email to commentletters@msrb.org. The MSRB requests that those commenting include the notice number 2011-34 and comments in PDF format if possible.

Questions may be directed to Ernesto A. Lanza, deputy executive director and general counsel (703 797-6600).

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