Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesPractice paper
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s self-regulatory organisation (SRO) model
Journal of Securities Operations & Custody,
10
(2),
176-183
(2018)
Abstract
The concept of self-regulation in the United States securities markets, codified by Congress in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, combines government and industry responsibility with the goal of promoting effective and efficient regulation that uses the oversight capabilities of the federal government, but reduces the burden on its limited resources. The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is the self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the municipal securities market. Established in 1975, the MSRB’s statutory mission is to protect investors, state and local governments and other municipal entities, and the public interest by promoting a fair and efficient municipal securities market. The MSRB fulfills its mission in part by involving and benefiting from market participants with a deep understanding of the complexities and nuances of securities trading, disclosure practices and other critical market functions. The MSRB’s SRO model has enabled the municipal securities market to grow into a US$3.8 trillion capital market that provides reliable, long-term income for investors, and supports infrastructure financing, economic development and job creation. The appropriate combination of government and industry oversight also has earned the municipal securities market the confidence of investors, bond issuers and market professionals.
Keywords: municipal bonds; self-regulation; United States capital markets; Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board; financial market oversight
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Michael L. Post is General Counsel of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, where he serves as legal, policy and governance advisor and counsel to the MSRB and its Board of Directors, and has responsibility for regulator relationships and legislative affairs. After joining the MSRB as Deputy General Counsel in 2013, Mr Post oversaw the development and implementation of rules governing municipal securities dealers, including key market structure rules such as best execution and mark-up disclosure, as well as a new framework of rules governing municipal advisors. Previously, he served for over 10 years in various senior roles at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). From 2007 to 2009, he was counsel to Chairman Christopher Cox, advising on a wide range of legal, policy and management issues arising primarily out of the Division of Trading and Markets, Division of Enforcement and Office of Municipal Securities. He also served as a senior litigation counsel in the appellate group in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the General Counsel and received the Manuel F. Cohen Outstanding SEC Younger Lawyer Award. From 1998 to 2003, Mr Post was in private practice in the Supreme Court and appellate litigation group at Sidley Austin LLP. He began his legal career as a judicial law clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Mr Post earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master of public administration degree from Arizona State University and a juris doctor, with high honours, from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Law Review.
