Fixed Income Legal & Compliance Roundtable

Recap

On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, BDA held the biannual Fixed Income Legal & Compliance Roundtable, hosted by BDA member firm Quarles & Brady. Over 25 attendees participated in this roundtable at which BDA member firms discussed pressing regulatory and legal issues, shared examination experiences and networked at dinner. 

Full recap below. Please contact us with any questions or comments.

The agenda can be viewed here.

Roundtable Recap
Wednesday, October 24th
Washington, DC

Discussion on Amendments to SEC Rule 15c2-12

Discussion Leader: Gregg Bienstock, CEO and Co-Founder, Lumesis

The discussion focused on issuers and those serving issuers: awareness and the understanding of Amendments 15 and 16 which address "Financial Obligations" and "Reflecting Financial Difficulties."Further topics of discussion included:

• CDA Language
• Reasonable Diligence and
• Time of Trade Disclosure (G-47)

Regulatory Discussion

Featured Discussion Leaders:

• Joey Frebes, Senior Vice President, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.
• Dan Deaton, Partner, Nixon Peabody

FINRA/MSRB Mark-Up/Down Confirmation Rules

• Members discussed continued post implementation issues/exams and shared best practices on the new rule
• Included in this conversation were the retail investors acceptance to the new documentation and where members see this rule in a few years
• Also noted were reports of FINRA "sweeps" already occurring

Charitable Contributions/Sponsorships

• The recent MSRB "Compliance Corner" was discussed as it related to conflicts of interest and charitable donation requests from issuers
• Members went over best practices and noted concerns of the pay-to-play aspects of Rule G-37 and how that may affect charitable contributions

Cybersecurity-Fraud in Public Finance

• Members shared personal experiences with fraudulent behavior in trades; in particular phishing schemes and mimicked email campaigns
• Best practices and tips for awareness were discussed, as well FBI resources were shared

MSRB Request for Comment on Pennying and Amendments to Best-Ex

• BDA staff gave an update on the status of the comment letter
• Members discussed the upcoming request for comment on pennying and best-ex and strategized the outline for the BDA comment letter

MSRB Advertising Regulations G-40/G-21

• Members had an opportunity to provide additional feedback to the recently submitted BDA comment letters on the MSRB's proposed implementation and compliance guidance
• MSRB Rules G-21 and G-40 are set to be effective on February 7, 2019

MSRB Primary Offering Practices

• BDA staff and outside counsel from Nixon Peabody led the discussion on the recent BDA comment letter
• Also noted was the MSRB follow-up with the BDA with further questions on the comment letter
• In the coming weeks, the BDA plans to facilitate a call with MSRB and L&C leadership to discuss comments further

Networking Dinner Sponsored by Quarles and Brady

After the Roundtable, participants were able to continue networking over drinks and dinner at Equinox in downtown Washington, DC