The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is a self-regulatory organization established by Congress in 1975 under the Securities Acts Amendments to regulate the municipal securities market.
What the MSRB does: - Writes rules governing municipal securities broker-dealers, banks that deal in munis, and municipal advisors. - Operates EMMA (Electronic Municipal Market Access) — the free public database for official statements, continuing disclosures, and trade data on municipal bonds.
What the MSRB does NOT do: - The MSRB has no enforcement authority. FINRA enforces MSRB rules for broker-dealers; the SEC and federal bank regulators enforce for banks and municipal advisors.
Key MSRB rules: - Rule G-17: Dealers must deal fairly with all persons and not engage in deceptive practices. - Rule G-19: Suitability — recommendations must be suitable for the customer. - Rule G-37: Political contribution rules ("pay-to-play") — limits political contributions by muni dealers to prevent corruption. - Rule G-30: Prices and commissions must be fair and reasonable. - Rule G-32: Dealers must provide official statements to customers buying new issues.
> Exam tip: MSRB writes the rules; FINRA enforces them for broker-dealers. The MSRB cannot enforce its own rules. EMMA is the MSRB's public disclosure system — know it for the Series 7 and 65/66.