The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing the disclosure requirements applicable to municipal securities in the midst of tremendous uncertainty about the economic health of federal, state and local governments, as well as heightened investor concern about the transparency of the municipal securities market, including the lack of uniform disclosure by municipal issuers of their unfunded pension obligations.
But is the current review by the SEC of the existing framework enough? Do municipal issuers provide adequate financial disclosure to their massive retail investor base? The answer to both questions appears to be “no.”
