[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 213 (Thursday, November 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64346-64350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3007]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-50605; File No. SR-MSRB-2004-06]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule 
Change by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board To Create Real-Time 
Transaction Price Service and Propose Annual Subscription Fee

October 29, 2004.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on October 26, 2004, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board 
(``MSRB'' or ``Board'') filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as 
described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared 
by the MSRB. 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 MSRB has filed with the SEC a proposal to create the Real-Time 
Transaction Price Service (``Real-Time Service'' or ``Service'') to 
disseminate municipal securities transaction prices in real-time. An 
annual fee of $5,000 is proposed for a subscription to the Service. The 
Service would be part of the MSRB's Real-Time Transaction Reporting 
System, which is planned for implementation in January 2005. The text 
of the proposal is set forth below.
* * * * *

Real-Time Transaction Price Service

    In January 2005, the MSRB plans to begin operation of the Real-Time 
Transaction Price Service to disseminate municipal securities 
transaction prices in real-time. The Service will be available by 
subscription for an annual fee of $5,000 and will be a part of the 
MSRB's Real-Time Transaction Reporting System (``RTRS''). RTRS will 
bring real-time price transparency to the municipal securities market 
and will make other improvements in the transparency and market 
surveillance functions of the MSRB's current transaction reporting 
program.

Description

    The Service will be available by subscription and will provide a 
real-time stream of data representing municipal securities transaction 
reports made by brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers 
(``dealers'') to RTRS.\3\ After receipt of a trade report from a 
dealer, RTRS will automatically check the report for errors, ensure 
that it is a valid trade report for dissemination, appropriately format 
the report, and make it available for immediate electronic transmittal 
to each subscriber.\4\
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    \3\ Modifications and cancellation messages submitted by dealers 
will also be disseminated in real time.
    \4\ The MSRB anticipates that, during peak traffic periods, 
these automated functions will be accomplished within two minutes, 
and during lighter periods will be accomplished within a few 
seconds.
    Certain trade reports made by dealers, which are coded by the 
dealers to indicate that the trade is for a specific reason not done 
at a market price, will not be disseminated but will be available to 
regulators as part of the surveillance function offered by RTRS. 
Certain other types of ``transactions'' that are required to be 
reported exclusively for audit trail purposes (relating to clearing 
brokers and their correspondents in certain fully-disclosed clearing 
arrangements where the correspondent does not take a principal 
position) also will not be disseminated but will be available to 
regulators.
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    The real-time data stream will be in the form of messages and will 
be available either over the Internet or by leased line, at the 
subscriber's option.\5\ The subscriber must use either the MQ Series 
\6\ or a TCP Socket connection for messaging with RTRS. Messages 
representing trade reports will be sent

[[Page 64347]]

out by the Service based on the order that they are received at RTRS, 
i.e., on a ``first in-first out'' basis.\7\ The Service also will offer 
a ``Day Replay'' file containing all messages sent during the day, in 
case a subscriber needs to check its records for completeness of 
recovery from communication breaks.\8\
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    \5\ Subscribers will be responsible for all telecommunications 
charges for leased lines.
    \6\ To receive real-time trade messages via MQ Series, 
subscribers must license and configure their own MQ software.
    \7\ If a subscriber detects that a message or a series of 
messages was missed during the day, the subscriber can request a 
trade message replay or ``snapshot.''
    \8\ The MSRB also maintains a hot-site from which it will 
provide real-time feed subscribers with a second source for the feed 
in the event that it can no longer be broadcast from the RTRS 
primary site.
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    Hours of Operation. The ``RTRS Business Day,'' during which time 
dealers are required by Rule G-14 to submit trade reports within 15 
minutes of execution, begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m.\9\ 
However, RTRS will actually accept, and the Service will disseminate, 
any trade reports received between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. (``RTRS `Window' 
Hours'').\10\ Transaction reports submitted to RTRS after 8 p.m. will 
not be processed by RTRS but will be pended for processing and 
dissemination at 7 a.m. the next business day.\11\
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    \9\ All times given are in Eastern Time.
    \10\ The RTRS ``window'' hours provide extra time before the 
Business Day and after the Business Day for dealers that may need to 
report late trades or correct mistakes that are discovered after the 
close of the Business Day. The 8 p.m. closing time for the window is 
intended to allow time for certain kinds of trades that, pursuant to 
Rule G-14, are permitted to be reported at the ``end of day'' for 
operational reasons (e.g., syndicate trades executed at list price). 
These can be reported up until 8:00 p.m. when the RTRS ``window'' 
closes.
    \11\ In addition, at 7 a.m. RTRS will send modifications showing 
exact par values for transaction that were initially broadcast with 
a par value of ``1MM+.'' As described in the RTRS filing, because of 
concerns regarding liquidity, transactions with a par value 
exceeding $1 million will initially be disseminated with a par value 
of ``1MM+.'' Five business days after trade date, the actual par 
value will be shown.
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    Transaction Data Disseminated. The data contained in each 
transaction price report sent to subscribers is discussed in detail in 
the RTRS filing.\12\ It will include the same transaction information 
now disseminated in the MSRB's existing overnight batch system of 
transaction reporting, with additional data elements that have been 
added for real-time transaction reporting. The specific items of 
information that will be disseminated are:
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    \12\ File No. SR-MSRB-2004-02 (June 1, 2004); see also ``Real-
Time Transaction Reporting: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change 
to Rules G-14 and G-12(f),'' MSRB Notice 2004-13 (June 1, 2004), at 
www.msrb.org. The SEC approved this filing on August 31, 2004, in 
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50294; see also ``Approval by 
the SEC of Real-Time Transaction Reporting and Price 
Dissemination,'' MSRB Notice 2004-29 (Sept. 2, 2004), at 
www.msrb.org.
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Message Type
    Type of message sent in the real-time broadcast (i.e., a trade 
message, a ``heartbeat'' message or a system message). Heartbeat 
messages will be sent once every 60 seconds in the absence of real-time 
transaction messages to indicate that the connection is working 
properly but that there are no messages to send. System messages will 
be sent to indicate the daily open and close of the RTRS real-time 
subscriber service and to notify subscribers if publishing will be 
intentionally interrupted during system hours (e.g., the markets have 
been closed because of extraordinary circumstances).
Sequential Number
    Unique sequential number of the trade message. If more than one 
message has been published for a trade due to modification or 
cancellation, the trade is uniquely identified by the RTRS ID described 
below.
RTRS Control Number
    The RTRS ID for the transaction. This may be used to apply 
subsequent modifications and cancellations to an initial transaction.
Trade Type Indicator
    Type of trade: An inter-dealer trade, a purchase from a customer by 
a dealer, or a sale to a customer by a dealer.
Transaction Type Indicator
    An indicator showing whether the message is a new transaction, or 
modifies or cancels a previously disseminated transaction.
CUSIP
    The CUSIP number of the issue traded.
Security Description
    Text description of the security obtained from the CUSIP Service 
Bureau.
Dated Date
    Dated date of the issue traded obtained from the CUSIP Service 
Bureau.
Coupon (If Available)
    Interest rate of the issue traded (blank for zero-coupon bonds) 
obtained from the CUSIP Service Bureau.
Maturity Date
    Maturity date of the issue traded obtained from the CUSIP Service 
Bureau.
When-Issued Indicator (If Applicable)
    Indicates whether the issue traded on or before the issue's initial 
settlement date obtained from Standard and Poor's.
Assumed Settlement Date (If Applicable)
    For new issues where the initial settlement date is not known at 
the time of execution, this field is a date 15 business days after 
trade date. If this field is populated there will be no data in the 
settlement date field.
Trade Date
    The date the trade was executed as reported by the dealer.
Time of Trade
    The time of trade execution as reported by the dealer.
Settlement Date (If Known)
    The settlement date of the trade if reported by the dealer will be 
shown. If this field is populated there will be no data in assumed 
settlement date field.
Par Traded
    The par value of the trade as reported by the dealer will be shown. 
Trades with a par amount over $1 million will show par value as 
``1MM+'' until five days after the stated trade date.
Dollar Price
    The dollar price of the trade will be shown, as reported by the 
dealer. In most inter-dealer trade reports, the dealer is not required 
to report a dollar price and the dollar price shown is calculated by 
the MSRB from the final monies, par value and accrued interest reported 
for the trade.
Yield (If Applicable)
    For customer trades, this field shows the yield of the trade as 
reported by the dealer. This normally is the same yield that would 
appear on a confirmation of the trade. For some customer trades (e.g., 
trades defaulted securities, certain securities with variable interest 
rates) a yield cannot be reported by the dealer. On inter-dealer 
trades, yield is not generally reported by the dealer and is not shown.
Broker's Broker Indicator (If Applicable)
    An indicator used in inter-dealer transactions that were executed 
by a broker's broker, including whether it was a purchase or sale by 
the broker's broker.
Weighted Price Indicator (If Applicable)
    An indicator that the transaction price was a ``weighted average 
price'' based on multiple transactions done at

[[Page 64348]]

different prices earlier in the day to accumulate the par amount needed 
to execute an order for a customer.
Syndicate Price Indicator (If Applicable)
    An indicator showing that the transaction price was reported as a 
trade in a new issue by a syndicate manager or syndicate member at the 
list offering price on the first day of trading.
RTRS Broadcast Date
    The date the message was published to subscribers.
RTRS Broadcast Time
    The time the message was first disseminated to subscribers.
Version Number
    Version number of the message or file format used in the message or 
file.

Subscription Fee

    The Real-Time Service will be available by subscription for an 
annual fee of $5,000.\13\ Subscribers will be allowed to re-disseminate 
transaction data to an unlimited number of their own customers or 
clients at no additional charge. By not charging for or restricting re-
distribution of the transaction data, the MSRB wishes to encourage 
information vendors--and various other entities that make securities 
data available to members of the securities industry and the public--to 
use the transaction data in their products and services. The MSRB will 
also encourage those parties to re-disseminate the data, either in its 
original form or with enhancements to address the specific needs of 
specific data users.\14\ Through this approach, the MSRB anticipates 
that it will be possible for a typical individual investor to obtain 
the transaction data that is relevant to his or her investments for 
free or at a very modest cost.\15\ After its first year of operation, 
the MSRB will review the usage of the real-time data feed to ensure 
that this goal is being met and that the data is readily available to 
municipal market participants and others who need the data.
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    \13\ The $5,000 subscription price will cover the administrative 
and technical costs associated with disseminating data and 
supporting subscription accounts. The MSRB is not attempting to levy 
revenues from the Service to cover all RTRS costs.
    \14\ Although the transaction data collected by the MSRB is not 
restricted with respect to re-dissemination, there are certain 
restrictions on use of the proprietary ``CUSIP numbers and CUSIP 
Securities Descriptions.'' These are contained within the 
Subscription Agreement for the Service.
    \15\ The MSRB, for example, has received an indication from The 
Bond Market Association (``BMA'') that the real-time data will be 
made available in real-time on the BMA's free Web site 
(www.investinginbonds.com) which contains information on the fixed 
income markets.
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Other Transparency Reports Under RTRS

    In addition to offering the Real-Time Service, RTRS will continue 
to provide the primary transparency reports that have been developed 
within the current transaction reporting program. The data fields in 
these products will be modified for consistency with the real-time 
transaction data fields noted above and formatted to reflect that the 
data is being disseminated in files containing multiple transactions, 
rather than in real-time, ``trade by trade,'' messages.\16\
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    \16\ Approximately six months after RTRS becomes operational, 
the MSRB will retire certain redundant reports, and will combine the 
monthly and daily comprehensive reports into one service.
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    The existing ``Trade Detail Report'' (also known as the ``T+1 
Report'') contains the trade reports for a specific trade date and is 
made available at approximately 6:00 a.m. on the business day following 
trade date (``T+1''). It is provided in the form of an electronic file 
and is made available over the Internet. After RTRS is operational, the 
Trade Detail Report will be reformatted and renamed the ``T+1 
Transaction Price Service.'' Subscriptions will remain free to any 
interested person.
    The existing ``Daily Comprehensive Report'' also is used to 
disseminate trade reports for a specific trade date, but is made 
available five business days after that trade date (``T+5'').\17\ In 
RTRS, this service will be renamed the ``Comprehensive Transaction 
Price Service.'' The service will be made available exclusively through 
electronic file download over the Internet in the same format and 
manner as the T+1 Transaction Price Service. As is the case for the 
Comprehensive Reports produced today, the trade records in the new 
comprehensive service will: (i) Include exact par values for those 
transactions with a par value over $1 million; (ii) show all late trade 
reports made after the specified trade date, up until the date of 
dissemination; and (iii) show the effect of modifications or 
cancellations submitted by dealers after trade date. The annual fee for 
this service will be $2,000--the same fee currently charged for the 
existing Comprehensive Reports. Under RTRS, subscribers to the Real-
Time Price Dissemination Service will receive a subscription to the 
Comprehensive Price Data Service at no additional charge.
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    \17\ Subscribers to the T+5 Report also have access to a T+20 
Report that contains transactions showing the effects of any 
modifications received at RTRS since the T+5 Report was produced. 
Data formats in reports created before RTRS became operational may 
be those that were in use at the time they were created. Any 
interested party may contact the MSRB for technical information 
about these older reports.
    The MSRB also currently makes a ``Monthly Comprehensive Report'' 
available. Upon SEC approval of File No. SR-MSRB-2004-05 (September 
15, 2004), transaction data provided by this service will continue 
to be made available through the MSRB's proposed Historical Data 
Product. See also ``Notice of Proposed Rule Change to Offer New 
Historical Data Product,'' MSRB Notice 2004-30 (Sept. 15, 2004), at 
www.msrb.org.
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* * * * *

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 MSRB included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and 
discussed any comments it received on the proposal. The text of these 
statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. 
The MSRB 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

1. Purpose
    On August 31, 2004, the SEC approved a proposed rule change 
relating to the MSRB's implementation of real-time transaction 
reporting and price dissemination--the Real-Time Transaction Reporting 
System or ``RTRS.'' \18\ That rule change will become effective in 
January 2005, at which time the MSRB plans to begin disseminating 
transaction data electronically in real time. Also at that time, 
dealers will be required to report transactions in municipal securities 
within 15 minutes of the time of trade execution (instead of by 
midnight on trade date, as is currently required).\19\

[[Page 64349]]

This is designed to increase price transparency in the municipal 
securities market and to enhance the surveillance database and audit 
trail used by enforcement agencies.\20\ The MSRB is filing this 
proposed rule change to describe the proposed RTRS service for the 
dissemination of real-time transaction prices, which is named the Real-
Time Transaction Price Service (the ``Service''), and the proposed 
subscription fee for the Service.
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    \18\ Exchange Act Release No. 50294 (August 31, 2004); see 
``Approval by the SEC of Real-Time Transaction Reporting and Price 
Dissemination: Rules G-12(f) and G-14,'' MSRB Notice 2004-29 
(September 2, 2004), at www.msrb.org.
    The text of the rule change can be found, along with a 
description of the RTRS facility, in the MSRB's notice announcing 
its filing with the SEC. See ``Real-Time Transaction Reporting: 
Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to Rules G-14 and G-
12(f),'' MSRB Notice 2004-13 (June 1, 2004), at www.msrb.org.
    In its RTRS filing, the MSRB indicated that it would file with 
the SEC the specific implementation date in January 2005 for the 
beginning of RTRS operations. The MSRB expects to do this in 
November 2004 when more is known about the progress of dealer 
certification testing. The RTRS filing included rule amendments that 
require most dealers to schedule their certification testing prior 
to October 1, 2004.
    \19\ The RTRS filing included an amendment to Rule G-14, which 
will become effective concurrently with the operation of RTRS, that 
will require dealers to report most municipal securities 
transactions to the MSRB within 15 minutes of the time of trade, 
rather than by midnight on trade date, as is currently required. For 
operational reasons, the rule will allow dealers more than 15 
minutes to report certain kinds of transactions. These transactions 
still will be reported to subscribers immediately upon receipt at 
RTRS.
    \20\ The RTRS filing noted that certain trade reports made by 
dealers, which are coded by the dealers to indicate that the trade 
is for a specific reason not done at a market price, will not be 
disseminated but will be available to regulators as part of the 
surveillance function offered by RTRS. The RTRS Notice also noted 
that certain other types of ``transactions'' that are required to be 
reported exclusively for audit trail purposes (relating to clearing 
brokers and their correspondents in certain fully-disclosed clearing 
arrangements where the correspondent does not take a principal 
position) also will not be disseminated but will be available to 
regulators.
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    The MSRB proposes to charge $5,000 for an annual subscription to 
the Service. The MSRB encourages the redistribution of the data 
obtained through RTRS and believes that achieving the widest possible 
dissemination of transaction information will help ensure the fairest 
and most accurate pricing of municipal securities transactions. Toward 
this end, the MSRB will not impose a charge on subscribers for such 
redistribution. The MSRB anticipates that information vendors and other 
entities that make securities data available to the securities industry 
and the public will subscribe and re-disseminate the data, either in an 
unmodified form, or with enhancements, for a relatively low cost or for 
free. After its first year of operation, the MSRB will review the usage 
of the real-time data feed to ensure that the data is being made 
available in a cost-effective manner to municipal market participants 
and others who need the data.
    Subscribers will be able to choose one of two telecommunications 
methods: leased telephone line or Internet. Subscribers will also be 
permitted to choose one of two means of receiving real-time messages: 
via a proprietary application program for electronic message 
transmission called ``MQ,'' or a non-proprietary ``TCP Socket'' 
connection. Subscribers will be responsible for the cost of their 
telecommunication choice and for establishing and maintaining 
``firewalls'' to keep computer systems secure.
    The MSRB currently makes several kinds of transaction reports 
available to the public through its Transaction Report System: \21\
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    \21\ On September 16, 2004, the MSRB filed a proposed rule 
change with the SEC to offer a new transparency product containing 
historical trade data obtained through the Transaction Reporting 
System. Once approved by the SEC, the Historical Data Product would 
be available at a cost of $600 for a one-year collection of data on 
each inter-dealer trade reported since January 24, 1995, and each 
inter-dealer and customer trade reported since August 25, 1998. See 
``Notice of Proposed Rule Change to Offer New Historical Data 
Product,'' MSRB Notice 2004-30 (Sept. 15, 2004), at www.msrb.org.
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    The Inter-Dealer Report has been available since January 23, 1995, 
and contains summary data about reported inter-dealer transactions for 
issues that traded four or more times in one day. The data is made 
available the morning after the transactions are made, and is available 
at an annual subscription rate of $15,000.
    The Combined Report has been available since August 24, 1998, and 
contains summary data for reported transactions in issues that traded 
four or more times in the inter-dealer and the dealer/customer market. 
The data is made available the morning after the transactions are made, 
and is available at an annual subscription rate of $15,000.
    The Trade Detail Report became available on January 19, 2000, and 
contains information on all reported transactions in municipal 
securities. It is also made available the morning after the 
transactions were made. This report is available to subscribers free of 
charge. Data in this report differs from the comprehensive reports 
described below in that trades in municipal securities over $1 million 
in par amount show only ``+$1MM'' on the trade detail report, but 
trades on the comprehensive reports show actual par for all trades.
    The Monthly Comprehensive Report has been available since October 
25, 2000, and contains information on all transactions in municipal 
securities. It is available to subscribers for $2,000 a year on a 
delayed basis, once a month, covering the preceding month's trading.
    The Daily Comprehensive Report has been available since November 1, 
2001, and contains daily information on all transactions in municipal 
securities that occurred one-week prior (``T+5 Report''). It is 
available to subscribers for $2,000 a year. This report includes a 
monthly comprehensive report of transactions done 20 business days 
prior (``T+20 Report'') and shows any modifications received at RTRS 
since the T+5 Report was produced.
    After RTRS becomes operational in January 2005, the MSRB will 
continue producing these data products and modify them as necessary to 
reflect new data elements in RTRS trade reports. However, approximately 
six months thereafter, the MSRB intends to retire the inter-dealer and 
combined reports, and combine the monthly and daily comprehensive 
reports into one service.\22\ The MSRB believes that this transition 
period should provide ample time for those subscribers who wish to 
continue receiving the data through the new products to make the minor 
formatting and other changes necessary to receive such information.\23\ 
In the interim, the MSRB will not accept any new subscribers to these 
two products. The MSRB believes that the data products that will be 
available through RTRS will offer more comprehensive and timely 
information in a more cost-effective manner.\24\ As noted above, the 
MSRB will not charge subscribers for the redistribution of data; the 
MSRB believes that achieving the widest possible dissemination of 
transaction information will help ensure the fairest and most accurate 
pricing of municipal securities transactions, and therefore strongly 
encourages the redistribution of data obtained through RTRS.
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    \22\ There are currently two subscribers to these data products. 
The MSRB will provide at least six months' written notice to such 
subscribers, alerting them to the upcoming changes (i.e., 
discontinuation of these data products) and offering to provide test 
files from the new system to help such subscribers conduct the 
necessary reformatting and reprogramming to receive the new data 
products.
    \23\ With minor formatting and programming changes, subscribers 
can actually receive, free of charge, the data currently offered 
through the inter-dealer and combined reports.
    \24\ Bulk files will be made available to subscribers over the 
Internet via FTP or on CD-ROM.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The MSRB believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with 
section 15B(b)(2)(C) of the Act,\25\ which requires that the rules of 
the MSRB shall ``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

[[Page 64350]]

the public interest * * *'' \26\ The MSRB has a long-standing policy to 
increase price transparency in the municipal securities market, with 
the ultimate goal of disseminating comprehensive and contemporaneous 
pricing data. Since 1995, the Board has expanded the scope of its 
public transparency reports in several steps, and each step has 
provided industry participants and the public with more information 
about municipal securities transactions. This process has culminated in 
the RTRS system. The MSRB also has a long-standing policy of offering 
low-priced, wholesale information products that are designed to 
encourage information vendors and other organizations to enhance the 
data and redistribute it in a format that meets the needs of specific 
end-users. The MSRB does not intend to operate RTRS for profit, and 
historically has not attempted to compete with information vendors or 
other organizations in customizing or enhancing data and marketing 
products to end-users. This approach has allowed the MSRB to focus on 
collection of the data rather than on competing with the private sector 
in packaging and marketing the data. This approach also has allowed the 
MSRB to keep the costs of its information systems relatively low as 
part of its objective to maximize the distribution of information, 
thereby enhancing transparency in the municipal securities market. The 
MSRB encourages the redistribution of the data obtained through RTRS 
and believes that achieving the widest possible dissemination of 
transaction information will help ensure the fairest and most accurate 
pricing of municipal securities transactions.
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    \25\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-4(b)(2)(C).
    \26\ Id.
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The MSRB does not believe that the proposed rule change will result 
in any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

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

    Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    A. By order approve such proposed rule change, or
    B. Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be disapproved.

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. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-MSRB-2004-06 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20549-0609.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-MSRB-2004-06. This 
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. 
To help the Commission process and review your comments more 
efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all 
comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). 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 such 
filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the MSRB's 
offices. All comments received will be posted without change; the 
Commission does not edit personal identifying information from 
submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make 
available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-
MSRB-2004-06 and should be submitted on or before November 26, 2004.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\27\
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    \27\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-3007 Filed 11-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P