The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board revealed its $46.2 million fiscal 12 months 2026 price range – which represents a 5.2% lower from its FY 2025 price range – and mentioned it plans to return greater than $23 million in surplus working reserves to the trade.
The FY 2026 price range, launched Wednesday, “displays an organizational restructuring and rightsizing of” the MSRB’s workforce that occurred in FY 2025, Board Chair Natasha Vacation and MSRB President and CEO Mark Kim mentioned in a letter to stakeholders.
The MSRB’s FY 2026 fiscal 12 months started Oct. 1.
“We consider that this price range gives the required sources for MSRB to give attention to its core mission and statutory duties,” Vacation and Kim mentioned within the letter. “This consists of ongoing work to modernize our rulebook by means of retrospective rule opinions, finishing the modernization of the Digital Municipal Market Entry … web site, and guaranteeing the supply, reliability and cybersecurity of our expertise programs and knowledge repository.”
The greater than $23 million in surplus working reserves that the MSRB plans to return to the trade was “amassed over the past two years on account of unprecedented market exercise ranges,” in line with the letter.
An amended fee card filed with the Securities and Trade Fee by the MSRB “features a momentary credit score for sure market exercise charges over the following two years,” the letter mentioned.
“That is projected to return MSRB’s reserves to focus on ranges,” the letter mentioned. “The brand new fee card can even present the regulated entities that pay MSRB’s charges with better certainty and stability going ahead.”
In keeping with its SEC submitting concerning the proposed multi-year fee card, the MSRB has decided to scale back extra reserves by way of momentary credit of 45% utilized to market exercise charges – which embrace underwriting, transaction and commerce depend charges – in 2026 and 2027. That “would produce a discount within the quantities to be assessed to and paid by sellers for Market Exercise Charges throughout such years,” the Sept. 30 submitting mentioned.
At almost $14.9 million, info expertise companies ranks as the largest FY 2026 price range expense by exercise, adopted by market transparency services and products at $12.2 million.
The data expertise companies staff runs, maintains and enhances the MSRB’s expertise infrastructure. The MSRB’s market transparency services and products staff “develops, builds and maintains mission-driven market transparency and regulatory merchandise that present entry to municipal market knowledge and value-added companies,” the FY 2026 price range report mentioned.
Personnel was the biggest expense by class, accounting for 61% of the overall FY 2026 price range.
“Workers are MSRB’s most essential useful resource, and we’ve got managed this expense space by conducting a strategic analysis of our workforce and decreasing budgeted headcount by 15%,” the FY 2026 price range report mentioned.
The MSRB’s revenues are generated primarily by charges assessed on regulated entities. Most of its income comes from charges assessed on major and secondary market exercise together with underwriting and buying and selling exercise. The remaining income comes primarily from charges on municipal advisory professionals, agency registration charges and knowledge charges.
The FY 2026 price range initiatives market exercise charges of $23 million, down from almost $39.2 million within the FY 2025 price range. The FY 2026 price range initiatives $3.16 million of municipal advisor skilled charges, up from almost $2.93 million within the FY 2025 price range.
