Municipal Securities Underwriters Pay a Total of $325,000 in Fines
Washington, DC, Dec. 16, 2026 —
Photo: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securitiesand Exchange Commission announced today that NASD RegulationInc. censured and fined 21 securities firms for violationsof Rule G-36 of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.At the same time, the Comptroller of the Currency sanctioneda division of a bank for similar violations.* Theseproceedings resulted from a coordinated effort by the SEC,NASD Regulation, Inc. and the OCC.
Rule G-36 requires firms underwriting municipalsecurities offerings to send the official statements fromthose offerings to the MSRB within one day of receiving theinformation from the issuer, and in no case later than 10days from the date of the agreement to purchase thesecurities. The official statement is then placed in theBoard’s Municipal Securities Information Library, and isavailable to the public.
Chairman Arthur Levitt said, “Today’s enforcementactions are a wake-up call to municipal securitiesunderwriters. The lapses here are particularly unfortunatebecause they are so widespread, involving every category ofmunicipal underwriter, from national and regional securitiesfirms to a bank. Rule G-36 is an important investorprotection rule. The requirements of the rule enhance thequality of disclosure, and improve the overall integrity andefficiency of the municipal securities market. I hope thattoday’s actions will remind market participants that theinformation is important and that firms need to haveprocedures in place to comply with the MSRB rules.”
The SEC, NASD Regulation Inc., the OCC, the FederalReserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporationshare responsibility for enforcing the MSRB rules.
Firms Sanctioned by NASD Regulation, Inc.Amount
Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.$25,000 First of America Securities, Inc.$10,000 First Southwest Company$10,000 First Union Capital Markets Corp.$10,000 Goldman, Sachs & Co. $25,000 J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.$25,000 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.$10,000 Miller, Johnson & Kuehn, Inc.$10,000 Morgan, Keegan & Co., Inc. $10,000 Morgan Stanley & Co., Incorporated$10,000 Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. $10,000 PaineWebber Incorporated. $25,000 Piper Jaffray Inc. $10,000 PNC Capital Markets, Inc. $10,000 Prudential Securities Incorporated$25,000 Raymond James and Associates $10,000 Seattle-Northwest Securities Corp.$10,000 Smith Barney Inc. $25,000 Stone & Youngberg, LLC. $10,000 SunTrust Capital Markets, Inc.$10,000 Sutro & Co. Inc. $25,000
Bank Sanctioned by OCC Amount
Commerce Capital, a Division of Commerce Bank, N.A. $10,000
Last Reviewed or Updated: Dec. 1, 2026
Stocks
SEC Office of Municipal Securities Updates FAQs for Registration of Municipal Advisors
Stocks
SEC Proposal Would Address How Investment Advisers and Funds Can Custody Crypto Assets Under the Federal Securities Laws
Stocks