Office address: 1300 I Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005
Website: msrb.org
Year established: 1975
Company type: self-regulatory organization
Employees: 150+
Expertise: municipal securities regulation, investor protection rulemaking, municipal bond market transparency, municipal advisor oversight, market data collection and dissemination, broker-dealer compliance standards, municipal fund securities regulation
Parent company: N/A
Key people: Mark Kim (CEO), Natasha Holiday (board chair), Ernesto Lanza (chief regulatory and policy officer), Brian Anthony (chief product officer), John Bagley (chief market structure officer), Jacob Lesser (general counsel), Yetunde Olumide (CFO)
Financing status: self-funded nonprofit
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) is a congressionally chartered organization that regulates the US municipal securities market from Washington. It sets fair-dealing and pricing standards for broker-dealers, banks, and municipal advisors.
The regulatory body operates the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA), a free platform with trade data on roughly 1 million outstanding municipal bonds.
The MSRB entered the municipal bond market in 1975 as conditions were shifting fast. More everyday investors were buying bonds once sold mainly to large banks and insurers, yet basic rules were still missing.
After New York City nearly defaulted in the mid‑1970s, Congress created the MSRB as a self‑regulatory body under SEC oversight. From then on, the board focused on curbing abuses, enforcing fair trading, and safeguarding the municipal capital market.
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board first tackled trading mechanics so dealers nationwide followed the same standards in daily operations. In the late 1970s, it set uniform confirmation, clearance, and settlement rules, making trade processing more consistent.
It then added fair practice rules on suitability, pricing, and fair dealing to guide recommendations and pricing. As trading went electronic, MSRB required CUSIP numbers and supported the shift to book‑entry securities and automated settlement.
When major failures exposed gaps, MSRB and other regulators used them to tighten disclosure and transparency. After the "Whoops" default in 1983, involving more than $2 billion in bonds, the SEC adopted Rule 15c2‑12. MSRB supported it by requiring offering documents and creating the Municipal Securities Information Library.
In the 1990s, it tackled political influence with Rule G‑37, limiting business after certain campaign contributions and shaping later state and SEC rules. In the same period, it built transaction reporting systems and, by 1998, was publishing daily dealer and customer trade data that set up today's real‑time pricing.
In the 2000s, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board updated disclosure rules and pushed near real‑time trade reporting. That work led to EMMA's launch in 2008–2009 as the official free site for municipal bond prices, data, and disclosures.
The organization has also worked on keeping its rules aligned with how the market now runs, including Reg BI (Regulation Best Interest) and T+1 settlement. Its standards also show up in enforcement, like the 2024 case against Morgan Stanley under MSRB Rules G‑15 and G‑12(h).
That case highlighted how MSRB rules help other regulators demand clear pricing, disclosure, and settlement for municipal bond investors. Rules help other regulators demand clear pricing, disclosure, and settlement for municipal bond investors.
MSRB provides concrete tools and platforms that market participants use every day:
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board also supports the market behind the scenes through research reports and analysis on trading, issuance, and investor behavior.
MSRB describes its culture as mission‑driven and community‑minded, linking daily work to real public projects. It lives this through small, cross‑functional teams plus employee‑led Community Connection programs that support local needs. Its values include:
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board also supports its employees with a broad, structured benefits package, including:
MSRB also notes it recognizes staff performance through formal rewards programs. It supports this with equal‑opportunity hiring and a single‑floor office designed for collaboration.
Mark Kim serves as the CEO of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. Before that, Kim served as MSRB's COO and sat on its board. He previously worked at DC Water and the City of New York. Kim holds degrees from Harvard, Cornell, and Northwestern.
Helping Mark Kim lead the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board are:
Together, these leaders guide Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's rulemaking, technology, and stakeholder work across the municipal bond market.
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has set its sights on modernizing how the municipal bond market operates for the next generation. The board's plans include a redesign of the EMMA website with better search tools, new data features, and a customizable dashboard. It is also developing a new multi‑year strategic plan to keep pace with market changes.
Building on those plans, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is also reshaping its physical footprint to match its future needs. By the first half of 2027, it would've already moved from 1300 I Street NW to a smaller office at 1101 K Street NW.
This move will have trimmed its space by more than 20 percent. MSRB says this relocation reflects its focus on fiscal discipline and right‑sizing, with projected savings of about $6 million over the lease term.
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