Continuing Disclosures

Overview

Any government or governmental entity issuing bonds has an obligation to meet specific continuing disclosure standards in compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 15c2-12. When bonds are issued, the issuer enters into a continuing disclosure agreement/certificate/undertaking (CDA) for the benefit of the underwriter to meet SEC requirements, promising to provide certain annual financial information and material event notices to the public.

Continuing disclosures detail important information about a municipal bond that arises after the initial issuance of the bond. This information generally would reflect the financial or operating condition of the issuer as it changes over time, as well as specific events occurring after issuance that can have an impact on the ability of issuer to pay amounts owing on the bond, the value of the bond if it is bought or sold prior to its maturity, the timing of repayment of principal, and other key features of the bond. Each bond will have its own unique set of continuing disclosures, and not all types of continuing disclosures will apply to every bond.

Requirements

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website publicly displays continuing disclosures that are provided either as required disclosures by municipal issuers and other parties known as "obligated persons" or "obligors" under contractual agreements entered into under Rule 15c2-12  of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) or as voluntary disclosures by issuers and obligated persons without a contractual obligation to do so. As noted above, these disclosures generally are divided between submissions made to update financial or operating information about the issuer and notices that disclose the occurrence of specific events that may have an impact on the bonds.