Media Center

March 26, 2019
Publications

by Timothy J. Horstmann and Penny Pollick

An MSRB infographic announcing the plans states that the enhancements include “creating a more user-friendly and streamlined document submission experience,” “developing a seamless navigation to tools and resources on EMMA,” and “improving the quality of indexing data for disclosure documents.” In an article published by The Bond Buyer on Friday, the MSRB elaborated a little on these plans.

The MSRB explained that the issuer document submission process would be revamped around a wizard approach. The new approach is designed to lead issuers through a series of questions to assist them in submitting their disclosure documents. The MSRB believes that this will reduce submission time, while also making things easier for infrequent posters.

Left unclear is the nature of the coming changes to the indexing of disclosure documents. We assume that the changes will improve the search functionality of the site. Currently, a user may retrieve disclosure documents using one of three functions: a “quick search,” an “advanced search,” or general browsing by state.

As might be gathered by the descriptions, a “quick search” allows a user to enter all of his search terms in a single field, while the “advance search” option allows the user to search by distinct field, e.g., the issuer name, issue description, or CUSIP. The general browsing feature simply pulls up a list of all issuers in the state, with the ability to search for particular entities within the list.

It seems likely that this summer’s enhancements will be limited to “under-the-hood” improvements – although The Bond Buyer noted that the ability to search directly by conduit borrower, instead of issuer, is a feature the MSRB is interested in implementing (although not this summer).

Currently, search functionality is built around the issuer, which can make things difficult for users looking to retrieve disclosure documents related to conduit borrowers (e.g., 501(c)(3) borrowers like charter schools, universities and hospital systems).

Unless the user knows the identity of the issuer, he may not be able to retrieve the disclosure information. And, conduit borrowers may use different issuers over time, making it difficult to put together a complete picture of the borrower’s debt picture.

The MSRB is expected to roll out additional EMMA user enhancements in the months and years to come. Having trouble keeping up? Don’t worry – McNees has the dedicated professionals you need to stay in compliance with your continuing disclosure obligations. Contact Timothy J. Horstmann or Penny Pollick to learn more.

© 2019 McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC
McNees Advocate Alert is presented with the understanding that the publisher does not render specific legal, accounting or other professional service to the reader. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the law, information contained in this publication may become outdated. Anyone using this material must always research original sources of authority and update this information to ensure accuracy and applicability to specific legal matters. In no event will the authors, the reviewers or the publisher be liable for any damage, whether direct, indirect or consequential, claimed to result from the use of this material.