MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 11, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MuniPriceTracker, an independent price tracking service that makes sense of municipal bond trading activity as reported on the MSRB's EMMA website, announces that its services are now fully automated via an on-line platform. MuniPriceTracker's service and reports provide issuers, counsels, and advisors with bond trading performance data, as well as analysis based on industry benchmarks. With little effort you can know quickly whether a municipal bond has been "flipped," including during the closing period. MuniPriceTracker will provide a Closing Report for verification and bond transcript purposes that will support (or possibly question) an underwriter's certificate, the bond yield calculation, and counsel's tax opinion. Clients use our services to review and monitor trading activity for current as well as historical transactions.
MuniPriceTracker is a web-based tracking system that follows the trading activity of municipal bonds and quickly determines if trading is in compliance with IRS regulations. MuniPriceTracker checks bond price and safe harbor thresholds on a daily basis and sends an email notification if trades fall outside IRS parameters. Early notification of non-compliant trading activity will give issuers and their bond counsels time to determine if trading activity is problematic and to remedy the situation prior to closing. MuniPriceTracker also performs a market comparison to identify whether premium trades can be explained by market movements. At closing, MuniPriceTracker will generate a comprehensive report of trading activity, typically from the sale date to the closing date of the bond issue, that can be used by issuers, bond counsels, and other market participants to demonstrate compliance with yield constraints, volume caps, or de minimis premiums.
The IRS can question or audit any municipal bond and look for unusual or unexplained price movements between the issuance date and the closing date and beyond. The IRS is urging issuers to adopt post-issuance procedures for all tax-favored obligations, including tracking the secondary trading of bonds. According to Erik Kelly, Senior Vice President of MuniPriceTracker, "We initially conceived and developed MuniPriceTracker in response to questions posed by the IRS on the trading of Build America Bonds in the secondary market, but it can be, and probably should be, used for all municipal bonds, including tax-exempt and qualified private activity bonds. We believe that it will be a valuable tool for municipal market participants, especially issuers, bond counsels, and financial advisors." MuniPriceTracker is committed to helping issuers or other market participants get the bond trading information they need to assess trading performance and determine whether a bond issue was sold in compliance with existing regulations.
About MuniPriceTracker, LLC
MuniPriceTracker, LLC is a web-based data and technology firm that provides pricing transparency by monitoring bond trading activity. MuniPriceTracker was conceptualized as a tool for counsels, issuers, and other market participants who desire to ensure that an issuer's bonds meet the pricing and arbitrage rebate requirements established by the IRS regulations governing Build America Bonds, tax-exempt bonds, private activity bonds, and other governmental issues. MuniPriceTracker was created and is staffed by a group of professionals that have served the municipal bond market in various capacities, including financial advisors, investment bankers, underwriters, and fixed income traders. With 75 years of combined experience, they have worked on thousands of municipal transactions. MuniPriceTracker is an independent compliance and reporting service, and is not affiliated with any bank, dealer, or financial services provider.
For more information about MuniPriceTracker, visit or call (800) 723-3994.
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CONTACT: Erik Kelly MuniPriceTracker, LLC 3109 W. 50th Street, #219 Minneapolis, MN 55410 Phone: (800) 723-3994 Email: ekelly@munipricetracker.com http://www.munipricetracker.com/