MSRB’s EMMA Website to Provide Access to Moody’s Public Finance Ratings

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) announced today that its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website will include public finance ratings from Moody's Investors Service later this year. The addition enhances the website’s utility as the only source of free access to ratings from the largest municipal securities ratings agencies presented in a consolidated format with all other key information about every municipal security.

“We are pleased that Moody’s will provide its ratings for display on EMMA,” said MSRB Executive Director Lynnette Kelly. “By providing data from another municipal credit ratings agency, the EMMA website will soon be an even more powerful tool for investors and other municipal market participants.” The MSRB currently provides ratings on EMMA from Fitch Ratings, Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) and Standard & Poor’s. “The MSRB appreciates Moody’s support for our mission to promote market transparency through EMMA.”

Credit ratings on EMMA are displayed along with the trading and disclosure information for each municipal security, and are also integrated into EMMA’s advanced search function and price discovery tool. The MSRB anticipates making the necessary enhancement to EMMA to add Moody’s ratings later this year. Read more about the ratings information available on EMMA.

The ratings agencies whose credit ratings appear on EMMA are each registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). The MSRB invited all NRSROs to make their municipal credit ratings available on EMMA. Previously, municipal credit ratings were not readily available to individual investors in a consolidated format.

The EMMA website is the MSRB’s official repository for information on virtually all municipal securities. EMMA provides free public access to official disclosures, trade data, credit ratings, educational materials and other information about the municipal securities market.

About the MSRB

The MSRB protects investors, state and local governments and other municipal entities, and the public interest by promoting a fair and efficient municipal securities market. The MSRB fulfills this mission by regulating the municipal securities firms, banks and municipal advisors that engage in municipal securities and advisory activities. To further protect market participants, the MSRB provides market transparency through its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website, the official repository for information on all municipal bonds. The MSRB also serves as an objective resource on the municipal market, conducts extensive education and outreach to market stakeholders, and provides market leadership on key issues. The MSRB is a Congressionally-chartered, self-regulatory organization governed by a 21-member board of directors that has a majority of public members, in addition to representatives of regulated entities. The MSRB is subject to oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission.