Bank of America has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $137 million for its part in a vast bid-rigging conspiracy in the municipal-investment contracts market, according to a Bloomberg article by Martin Z. Braun and Jeff Bliss called “Bank of America Deal in Muni Case May be ‘Tip of the Iceberg.’” See also […]
Year 2011 may bring a new wave of defaults by municipal-bond issuers as federal stimulus aid declines and budget pressures jeopardize debt payments, said according to a Bloomberg article by Darrell Preston, “Muni Issuers May Face Default ‘Crunch,’ Lehmann Says.” The article cites the “Distressed Debt Securities Newsletter” by Richard Lehmann.
Revenue shortfalls of states and cities and a growing backlog of new bonds for sale overwhelmed the market recently, leading some to question whether the day of reckoning has arrived for municipal bonds, according to a New Times article by Mary Williams Walsh, “Municipal Bond Market Shudders.” Municipal bonds took their biggest hit since the […]
The Wall Street Journal reports that several former Citigroup/Smith Barney brokers have been sharing information with the SEC about alleged fraudulent practices associated with the MAT/ASTA municipal bond arbitrage funds that lost more than 75% of their value between 2007 and 2008. (“Citi Debt Funds Probed by SEC,” 11/8/10). These brokers may stand to be […]
A recent front-page Wall Street Journal article by Randall Smith entitled “Citi Debt Funds Probed by SEC,” which concerns Citi’s disastrous MAT/ASTA municipal arbitrage fund, features a highly significant $1.8 million award issued against Citigroup in a MAT/ASTA case by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel.
SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter wants new authority for the SEC to require cities, states and other municipal-debt issuers to improve financial disclosures, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “SEC May Seek More Authority Over Muni Issuers,” by Meena Thiruvengadam and Jessica Holzer. Corporate bond issuers must meet registration and disclosure requirements under […]
Although many analysts do not think “the bond market” as a whole is in a “bubble,” most analysts do think that bonds are becoming more risky, especially treasuries and high yield corporate bonds or junk bonds, according to a number of recent articles in the financial press. These articles include “Bond Markets Get Riskier,” by […]
Citigroup misled its representatives who sold the firm’s MAT/ASTA municipal arbitrage hedge funds, and arbitrators are placing the blame squarely on the firm, according to a September 5 article by Bruce Kelly in InvestmentNews (“Arbitrators: B-Ds Kept Brokers in the Dark on Private Deals”).
Bloomberg is reporting that the SEC’s recent fraud action against the State of New Jersey may be the first of many such suits targeting public officials who raised money in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market. New Jersey agreed to settle the fraud charges on August 18, 2010, the same day they were filed by […]
The State of New Jersey has the dubious honor of being the first U.S. state ever to be charged with violating federal securities laws, according to an article in CNNMoney by Ben Rooney, “SEC sues New Jersey for fraud.” The state agreed to settle the fraud charges on August 18, 2010, the same day they […]
