[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 165 (Wednesday, August 26, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45545-45546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22876]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-40349; File No. SR-MSRB-98-11]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by the Municipal Securities 
Rulemaking Board Relating to Reports of Sales and Purchases, Pursuant 
to Rule G-14

August 20, 1998.
    On August 20, 1998, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board 
(``the Board'' or ``MSRB'') filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'' or ``SEC'') a proposed rule change (File No. 
SR-MSRB-98-11) pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\2\ The proposed 
rule change is described in Items I, II and III below, which Items have 
been prepared by the Board. The Commission is publishing this notice to 
solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of 
Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Board is filing herewith a proposed rule change to set the 
effective date to begin operation of a service (``the Service'') to 
provide daily reports from the Board's Transaction Reporting Program 
(``the Program'') that will summarize information about customer and 
interdealer transactions in municipal securities reported to the Board 
under Rule G-14.

[[Page 45546]]

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the Board included statements 
concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and 
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The 
texts of these statements may be examined at the places specified in 
Item IV below. The Board has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections 
A, B and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change.

    (a) The purpose of the Service is to increase transparency in the 
municipal securities market by adding information about transactions 
between dealers and customers (``customer transactions'') to the 
information currently disseminated by the Program. Under the proposed 
rule change, aggregate data about market activity and certain volume 
and price information about transactions in frequently traded 
securities will be disseminated to promote investor confidence in the 
market and its pricing mechanism. The Service will provide a daily 
public report summarizing prices and volumes of trading in the 
municipal securities market during the previous day (the ``Combined 
Daily Report''). The Combined Daily Report's format is a revision of 
the Board's currently produced Inter-Dealer Daily Report. Like the 
Inter-Dealer Daily Report, the Combined Daily Report will be made 
available by approximately 6:00 a.m. each business day, reporting on 
the previous day's market. Subscribers will transfer the report, in 
electronic form, from the Board's system to their own computer systems. 
A printed copy of the report will be available for examination, free of 
charge, in the Board's Public Access Facility in Alexandria, Virginia. 
These dissemination methods are the same as for the current Inter-
Dealer Daily Report.
Background
    In June 1998, the Board filed with the Commission its intention to 
institute the Service and establish a $15,000 fee for an annual 
subscription to the Service.\3\ The June 1998 filing described the 
Program and the daily reports that will summarize information about 
customer and interdealer transactions in municipal securities reported 
to the Board under Rule G-14. That filing also noted that the fee is 
structured to defray the Board's cost of disseminating the transaction 
data and to defray, in part, the cost of collecting and compiling 
transaction data that will be used in the Program and that the Board 
does not expect or intend to make a profit from the Service.
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    \3\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 40176 (July 7, 1998), 63 
FR 56072 (July 13, 1998).
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    The Commission approved the June 1998 filing on August 19, 1998.\4\ 
In the June 1998 filing, the Board stated that it would file with the 
Commission, in advance, an exact date for beginning operation of the 
Service. Under the proposed rule change in the present filing, 
operation will begin August 24, 1998.
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    \4\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 40337 (August 19, 1998). 
The Combined Daily Report is described in this release.
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    (b) The Board has adopted the proposed rule change pursuant to 
Section 15B(b)(2)(C) of the Act,\5\ which requires, in pertinent part, 
that the Board's rules: ``be designed to prevent fraudulent and 
manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable 
principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with 
persons engaged in regulating, clearing, settling, processing 
information with respect to, and facilitating transactions in municipal 
securities, to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a 
free and open market in municipal securities, and, in general, to 
protect investors and the public interest.''
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-4(b)(2)(C).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Board does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition in that it applies equally to all 
dealers in municipal securities.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received from Members, Participants, or Others

    No comments were received in response to the Board's June 1998 
filing which described the Service and announced the fee. Written 
comments were neither solicited nor received in regard to the present 
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing 
for Commission Action

    The Board has designated this proposed rule change as constituting 
a stated policy, practice, or interpretation with respect to the 
administration or enforcement of an existing Board rule under Section 
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act,\6\ which renders the proposed rule change 
effective upon receipt of this filing by the Commission. The proposed 
rule change merely sets the formal effective date for a Board facility, 
the plan for which previously has been approved by the Commission. At 
any time within sixty days of the filing of the proposed rule change, 
the Commission may summarily abrogate such rule change if it appears to 
the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate in the 
public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
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IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act.\7\ Persons making written 
submissions should file six copies thereof with the Secretary, 
Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20549. Copies of the Submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection and 
copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of the filing 
will also be available for inspection and copying at the Board's 
principal office. All submissions should refer to File No. SR-MSRB-98-
11 and should be submitted by September 16, 1998.

    \7\ In reviewing this proposed rule change, the Commission has 
considered its impact on efficiency, competition and capital 
formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Margaret M. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-22876 Filed 8-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M