SEC Charges 36 Firms With Muni Bond Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged 36 firms for violating federal securities laws by selling municipal bonds using offering documents that contained materially false statements or omissions about the bond issuers' compliance with continuing disclosure obligations. The firms charged included Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit, Citigroup , Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase . The maximum penalty imposed was $500,000. The SEC said the firms self-reported securities law violations.