Search results
1 – 10 of 52Linlin Xie, Tianhao Ju, Ting Han and Lei Hou
As megaprojects bear extensive and profound social responsibilities throughout the project life cycle, formulating effective measures for improving construction enterprise social…
Abstract
Purpose
As megaprojects bear extensive and profound social responsibilities throughout the project life cycle, formulating effective measures for improving construction enterprise social responsibility is key to project success. Given the current research is relatively lack of these measures, this study aims to formulate a meta-network framework to improve the megaproject social responsibility behaviour (MSRB) for construction enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
First, this study implements literature review, expert interview and field investigation to identify the construction enterprise MSRB and its influencing factors. Second, this study evaluates the MSRB implementation level of the selected construction enterprises and proposes the above mentioned meta-network framework. Next, this meta-network is configured to reflect the impact of MSRB strategic adjustment. Last but not least, a real-world case study is carried out to validate this framework.
Findings
The best MSRB performance is always witnessed from the contractor group, followed by the project client group and the site supervisor group. The outcomes of implementing certain managerial strategies indicate that (1) social responsibility cognition is a critical factor for all the groups; (2) communication mechanism and normative pressure are the critical factors for clients; (3) coercive pressure is a critical factor for supervisors and (4) cultural cognitive pressure is a critical factor for clients and contractors.
Originality/value
The use of the framework in proactive assessment and management of MSRB can lead to effective strategies for construction enterprises to increase the efficiency and quality of projects.
Details
Keywords
– To summarize revised MSRB Rule G-30, which governs municipal bond dealer fair-pricing obligations.
Abstract
Purpose
To summarize revised MSRB Rule G-30, which governs municipal bond dealer fair-pricing obligations.
Design/methodology/approach
Discusses background of previous MSRB fair-pricing rules and interpretive guidance. Outlines the basic dealer obligations arising under revised MSRB Rule G-30. Discusses three key aspects of the new rule and recent rulemaking effort: the obligation of dealers to exercise “diligence” in assessing a municipal security’s market value and reasonableness of compensation, the distinction between fair security pricing and reasonable dealer compensation, and previous MSRB guidance that is superseded by the rule change. Also discusses similar rule changes related to fair-pricing, mark-ups, markdowns and commissions that have been proposed by FINRA that would apply to non-municipal securities if adopted.
Findings
Revised MSRB Rule G-30 generally preserves existing municipal bond fair-pricing obligations while consolidating obligations that previously existed in multiple MSRB rules and interpretive guidance.
Practical implications
The MSRB generally sought to preserve the substance of existing dealer fair-pricing obligations in revised MSRB Rule G-30 but dealers should evaluate their existing compliance frameworks in light of the recent revisions. The recent changes include deletion of prior MSRB Rule G-18 and superseding of certain interpretive guidance.
Originality/value
Practical explanation by experienced financial services lawyer.
Details
Keywords
Stephen Wink, Anna Rienhardt, Brett M. Ackerman and Sean Miller
To analyze the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s new rule outlining the standards of conduct and fiduciary duties applicable to municipal advisors.
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s new rule outlining the standards of conduct and fiduciary duties applicable to municipal advisors.
Design/methodology/approach
This article contains a summary of new MSRB Rule G-42 and identifies key areas where the final version of MSRB Rule G-42 differs from the initial proposal.
Findings
New MSRB Rule G-42 represents another significant milestone in the MSRB’s development of a comprehensive regulatory framework for municipal advisors mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and imposes significant requirements on municipal advisors.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced securities and financial services lawyers.
Details
Keywords
Juliet H. Huang, James C. Burr, Richard A. Cosgrove and Nathan H.B. Odem
To alert lenders, broker-dealers and municipal advisors to a joint regulatory notice from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory…
Abstract
Purpose
To alert lenders, broker-dealers and municipal advisors to a joint regulatory notice from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) regarding direct purchase or “bank loan” transactions.
Design/methodology/approach
Explains the MSRB and FINRA notice, why the notice was issued, what lenders should know about the notice, what broker-dealers and municipal advisors should know about the notice, and what MSRB rules could apply to bank loans.
Findings
Firms should determine whether state and local government obligations acquired through bank loan transactions constitute municipal securities for federal securities law purposes.
Originality/value
Review of a recently issued regulatory notice by experienced municipal securities lawyers.
Details
Keywords
College savings plans established and maintained by states as “qualified tuition programs” under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, are increasingly popular…
Abstract
College savings plans established and maintained by states as “qualified tuition programs” under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, are increasingly popular vehicles for accumulating savings on a tax‐advantaged basis to pay college expenses. All states and the District of Columbia currently offer, or soon will offer, these so‐called 529 college savings plans. Although structurally quite similar to registered mutual funds or “funds of funds” subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), 529 college savings plans raise unique securities law issues as a result of their being state investment programs. This article outlines the general framework of the federal securities law treatment of investments in 529 college savings plans and then explores in greater depth the basic disclosure issues that broker‐dealers face when marketing 529 college savings plans to customers.
Details
Keywords
Scott R. Anderson, James Audette and Kate S. Poorbaugh
To summarize the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s 2017 Compliance Advisory for brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers.
Abstract
Purpose
To summarize the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s 2017 Compliance Advisory for brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers.
Design/methodology/approach
Summarizes several Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules that the Compliance Advisory highlights as presenting key compliance risks for brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers. Discusses the factors included in the Compliance Advisory that dealers should consider when evaluating compliance procedures and controls.
Findings
By highlighting some key compliance risks and providing considerations tailored to those risks, the Compliance Advisory can be used as a tool to aid dealers in developing and assessing effective compliance programs.
Practical implications
Dealers should consider reviewing their firm’s existing compliance policies and procedures in light of the considerations discussed in the Compliance Advisory.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced securities and financial services regulatory lawyers.
Details
Keywords
Scott R. Anderson and Kate S. Poorbaugh
To summarize the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s 2016 Compliance Advisory for brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers.
Abstract
Purpose
To summarize the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s 2016 Compliance Advisory for brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers.
Design/methodology/approach
Summarizes several Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules that the Compliance Advisory highlights as presenting key compliance risks for brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers. Discusses the factors included in the Compliance Advisory that dealers should consider when evaluating compliance procedures and controls.
Findings
By highlighting some key compliance risks and providing considerations tailored to those risks, the Compliance Advisory can be used as a tool to aid dealers in developing and assessing effective compliance programs.
Practical implications
Dealers should consider reviewing their firms’ existing compliance policies and procedures in light of the considerations discussed in the Compliance Advisory.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced securities and financial services regulatory lawyers.
Details
Keywords
To describe the status of municipal advisor rulemaking by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and regulatory…
Abstract
Purpose
To describe the status of municipal advisor rulemaking by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and regulatory compliance approaches, under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).
Design/methodology/approach
Examines the posture of the SEC, MSRB and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) upon completion of the MSRB’s core regulatory framework for municipal advisors. Explores threshold issues in determining municipal advisor status, approaches for preparing for and responding to initial regulatory compliance examinations by the SEC and FINRA, and key considerations in reviewing municipal advisor policies, procedures and business practices in light of the evolving regulatory and marketplace landscape.
Findings
SEC and FINRA compliance examiner feedback points to the expectation that municipal advisor policies, procedures, processes and records must be fully consistent with the firm’s business activities and must address each material aspect of all applicable MSRB and SEC rules, as well as the fiduciary duty of municipal advisors to their municipal entity clients under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced securities and public finance attorney that provides a consolidated outline of key municipal advisor regulatory compliance obligations under the Dodd-Frank Act.
Details
Keywords
Yiran Liu and Srikanth Beldona
The examination of revisit intentions in hospitality is integral to relationship marketing and customer loyalty. Its measurement and determination have largely been done through…
Abstract
Purpose
The examination of revisit intentions in hospitality is integral to relationship marketing and customer loyalty. Its measurement and determination have largely been done through closed-ended measures in surveys of customers. However, vast troves of consumer-generated media in the form of open-ended text reviews can also serve as sources for the determination of revisit intentions. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a rule-based classification model from big data to extract revisit intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this came from 116,241 reviews scraped from Tripadvisor.com using a stratified sampling technique comprising hotels in major cities in the USA. A sample comprising 1,800 reviews was randomly drawn from this larger pool of reviews and manually annotated. A manual-set rule-based model, supervised machine learning (ML) models and hybrid models were developed to extract revisit intention.
Findings
The hybrid model of the MSRB method complemented by the gradient boosting ML method performed the best to classify revisit intentions in reviews.
Practical implications
This study’s rule-based classification model can be used by hotels to evaluate revisit intentions from the ever-growing pool of consumer-generated reviews. This can enable hotels to identify drivers of re-patronage and enhance relationship marketing initiatives.
Originality/value
This study is the first to propose an analytical model that taps big data to extracting revisit intentions. In the past, revisit intentions have been assessed using closed-ended questions using traditional survey-based methods.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this summary is to provide excerpts of selected Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Regulatory Notices and Disciplinary Actions issued from April to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this summary is to provide excerpts of selected Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Regulatory Notices and Disciplinary Actions issued from April to June 2009 and a sample of disciplinary actions during that period.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides excerpts from Regulatory Notice 09‐22, Personal Securities Transactions; 09‐25, Suitability and “Know Your Customer”; 09‐27, Member Public Offerings; 09‐30, Credit Default Swaps; 09‐34, Investment Company Securities; 09‐35, Municipal Securities.
Findings
Notice 09‐22: Sound supervisory practices require that a member firm monitor personal securities transactions outside of the firm by or for its associated persons. Notice 09‐25: Suitability obligations and know‐your customer obligations are critical to protecting investors. Notice 09‐27: The offering of securities by a member firm or a control entity of the firm in a private placement raises conflicts of interest and has been an area of regulatory concern in recent years. Notice 09‐30: Regulatory authorities are adopting measures to address system risk arising from credit default swaps (CDS), including risks to the financial system arising from the lack of a central clearing counterparty to clear and settle CDS; the SEC has approved a rule establishing an interim pilot program on margin requirements for CDS transactions. Notice 09‐34: As part of the process to develop a new consolidated rulebook, FINRA is requesting comment on a proposed rule regarding the distribution and sale of investment company securities. Notice 09‐35: FINRA recommends that firms engaged in municipal securities business review and, if necessary, modify their policies and procedures in light of changes to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's (MSRB) Electronic Municipal Market Access system (EMMA) that take effect July 1, 2009, and changes to MSRB rules that went into effect June 1, 2009. FINRA also encourages firms to review the overall adequacy and effectiveness of their current policies and procedures for municipal securities activities generally, particularly those relating to the disclosure of material information, the suitability of recommendations to retail customers, and the general supervision of their municipal securities activities.
Originality/value
These are direct excerpts designed to provide a useful digest for the reader and an indication of regulatory trends. The FINRA staff is aware of this summary but has neither reviewed nor edited it. For further detail as well as other useful information, the reader should visit www.finra.org
Details