Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee — Subcommittees

Transparency Subcommittee (February 2018 – June 2018)

This subcommittee will consider the impacts of transparency, both pre-trade and post-trade, on the corporate and municipal bond markets. The subcommittee is charged with reviewing the current transparency regimes for these markets and identifying methods for analyzing whether they are optimally serving the markets. With respect to post-trade transparency, topics that may be considered include a review of the current reporting and dissemination framework, its impact on market liquidity and any adjustments that may be advisable, as well as potential enhancements that may improve the quality and usefulness of the reported information. With respect to pre-trade transparency, topics that may be considered include a review of the availability of pre-trade pricing information to market participants, and whether the corporate bond and municipal securities markets, or particular segments thereof, may benefit from the coordinated collection and dissemination of this information.

Members:
Matt Andresen, Headlands Technologies
Brian Archer, Citigroup
Carole Brown, City of Chicago
Gilbert Garcia, Garcia Hamilton & Associates
Mark Kim, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
Scott Krohn, Verizon
Suzanne Shank, Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co.
Kumar Venkataraman, SMU Cox School of Business
Elisse Walter, Former Chairman, SEC
Michael Heaney, FIMSAC Chairman, ex officio
Brett Redfearn, FIMSAC Designated Federal Officer, ex officio

See Minutes:

Corporate Bond Transparency Subcommittee (June 2018 – Present)

This subcommittee will consider the impacts of transparency, both pre-trade and post-trade, on the corporate bond market. The subcommittee is charged with reviewing the current transparency regimes for this market and identifying methods for analyzing whether they are optimally serving the market. With respect to post-trade transparency, topics that may be considered include a review of the current reporting and dissemination framework, its impact on market liquidity and any adjustments that may be advisable, as well as potential enhancements that may improve the quality and usefulness of the reported information. With respect to pre-trade transparency, topics that may be considered include a review of the availability of pre-trade pricing information to market participants, and whether the corporate bond market, or particular segments thereof, may benefit from the coordinated collection and dissemination of this information.

Members:
Gilbert Garcia, Garcia Hamilton & Associates (Chair)
Robin Foley
Larry Harris, USC Marshall School of Business
Scott Krohn, Verizon
Rick McVey, MarketAxess
Sonali Theisen, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Kumar Venkataraman, SMU Cox School of Business
Michael Heaney, FIMSAC Chairman, ex officio
Ola Persson
Brett Redfearn, FIMSAC Designated Federal Officer, ex officio

See Minutes:

Municipal Securities Transparency Subcommittee (June 2018 – Present)

This subcommittee will consider the impacts of transparency, both pre-trade and post-trade, on the municipal securities market. The subcommittee is charged with reviewing the current transparency regimes for this market and identifying methods for analyzing whether they are optimally serving the market. With respect to post-trade transparency, topics that may be considered include a review of the current reporting and dissemination framework, its impact on market liquidity and any adjustments that may be advisable, as well as potential enhancements that may improve the quality and usefulness of the reported information. With respect to pre-trade transparency, topics that may be considered include a review of the availability of pre-trade pricing information to market participants, and whether the municipal securities market, or particular segments thereof, may benefit from the coordinated collection and dissemination of this information.

Members:
Matt Andresen, Headlands Technologies
Horace Carter, Raymond James
Mark Kim, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
Ananth Madhavan, BlackRock
Lynn Martin, ICE Data Services (Chair)
Amy McGarrity, Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association
Suzanne Shank, Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co.
Elisse Walter, Former Chairman, SEC
Brad Winges, Hilltop Securities
Michael Heaney, FIMSAC Chairman, ex officio
Brett Redfearn, FIMSAC Designated Federal Officer, ex officio
Darryl Street

See Minutes:

ETFs and Bond Funds Subcommittee

This subcommittee will consider the impacts of the growth of registered funds, including both exchange traded funds and open-end mutual funds, as investors in the corporate and municipal bond markets. The subcommittee is charged with assessing the consequences of the increased presence of fixed income mutual funds and ETFs in these markets, including their current and possible future impacts on the liquidity and pricing of the underlying bonds under a variety of scenarios, as well as investor understanding of these products. Topics that may be considered include the interaction of fixed income prices and fund prices, including through the ETF arbitrage process, an assessment of the impact of redemptions from funds in stressed conditions, an assessment of the potential impact of the rebalancing process on underlying markets, whether funds help to diversify sources of fixed income liquidity, the role of index providers, and retail investor education.

Members:
Ananth Madhavan, BlackRock (Chair)
Robin Foley
Lynn Martin, ICE Data Services
Amy McGarrity, Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association
Kumar Venkataraman, SMU Cox School of Business
Rachel Wilson, Iron Mountain
Michael Heaney, FIMSAC Chairman, ex officio
Brett Redfearn, FIMSAC Designated Federal Officer, ex officio

See Minutes:

Technology and Electronic Trading Subcommittee

This subcommittee will consider the impact of the growth of electronic trading platforms and the increased use of other electronic systems on the liquidity, efficiency and resiliency of the corporate and municipal bond markets. The subcommittee is charged with considering the types of trading platforms and protocols used in the market as well as the role of price data and reference data providers. Topics that may be considered include methods to promote the use of, and access to, electronic platforms, consideration of standards for platforms concerning governance, transparency, resiliency, access, error resolutions, and data management.

Members:
Dan Allen, Anchorage Capital Group
Matt Andresen, Headlands Technologies
Horace Carter, Raymond James
Larry Harris, USC Marshall School of Business
Mark Kim, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
Rick McVey, MarketAxess (Chair)
Lee Olesky, Tradeweb Markets
Larry Tabb, TABB Group
Sonali Theisen, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Brad Winges, Hilltop Securities
Michael Heaney, FIMSAC Chairman, ex officio
Ola Persson
Brett Redfearn, FIMSAC Designated Federal Officer, ex officio

See Minutes:

Credit Ratings Subcommittee

This subcommittee will consider the role of credit ratings issued by Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations (NRSROs) in the corporate bond and municipal securities markets.  Topics that may be considered include, but are not limited to, (1) the use of credit ratings by various market participants and the implications of ratings changes for these market participants, (2) the costs and benefits of the current model for credit rating issuance, (3) the U.S. regulatory regime for credit rating agencies registered as NRSROs, and (4) issuances of unsolicited credit ratings and the publication of commentaries.

Members:
Dan Allen, Anchorage Capital Group
John Bagley, MSRB
Larry Harris, USC Marshall School of Business
Scott Krohn, Verizon
Ananth Madhavan, BlackRock
Lynn Martin, ICE Data Services
Amy McGarrity, Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (Chair)
Kumar Venkataraman, SMU Cox School of Business
Rachel Wilson, Iron Mountain
Michael Heaney, FIMSAC Chairman, ex officio
Ola Persson
Brett Redfearn, FIMSAC Designated Federal Officer, ex officio
Darryl Street

See Minutes: