MSRB gets SEC approval to collect more post-trade data for transparency

By Marisa Wong

Madison, Wis., May 26 – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board said it received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to enhance the transparency of municipal securities transactions by collecting additional post-trade data for display on the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website.

Municipal securities dealers will soon be required to use a new indication for trades that occurred on an alternative trading system, among other changes, according to a press release.

The new data reporting requirements for dealers are included in amendments to MSRB Rule G-14 on trade reporting and the MSRB’s facility for its Real-Time Transaction Reporting System.

The requirements take effect on May 23, 2016, giving dealer firms one year to implement necessary system changes. The MSRB will provide updated technical documentation to assist firms with this process.

MSRB said that in reflecting current market practices, the amendments expand the application of existing list offering price and takedown indicators and add a new indicator to identify trades involving non-transaction-based compensation arrangements.

Additionally, the MSRB is eliminating the requirement for dealers to report yield on customer trade reports. Instead the MSRB will be able to calculate and disseminate yield on customer trades.

The new data will be collected from dealers through the Real-Time Transaction Reporting System and made available to the public by paid subscription and for free on the EMMA website.

“The MSRB’s EMMA website provides an unrivaled window into the trading of municipal securities for investors and other market participants,” MSRB executive director Lynnette Kelly said in the release.

“With the addition of useful new data points, the market – regulators included – will gain a better understanding of the ever-evolving practice of trading municipal securities, particularly the growing use of [alternative trading systems].”

The MSRB requested SEC approval of its proposal to expand the post-trade data displayed on EMMA in March, as previously reported.

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