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Washington Roundup

FINRA wants to levy fees on muni members to help fund GASB
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is seeking approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to subject its municipal members to fees that would go toward funding the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Dealers and issuers oppose such fees. "We believe it is an unfair tax on dealers and municipal bond investors," said David Cohen, managing director and associate general counsel at SIFMA. The Bond Buyer (free content)(1/9)

Fed's transparency might trigger volatility, bankers warn
The Federal Reserve plans to publish long-term interest rate forecasts, to increase transparency, but bankers warn that doing so might cause more market volatility. Financial Times(tiered subscription model)(1/8)

SEC wants banks to publish more debt-exposure details
The Securities and Exchange Commission called on banks to publish more information on their exposure to European sovereign, corporate and financial-institution debt. Financial Times(tiered subscription model)(1/8)

Global regulators will press ahead with liquidity rules
Global regulators meeting in Switzerland pledged to move forward with tough bank liquidity rules. However, banks will be allowed to dip into their liquidity buffers if necessary. "Once the Liquidity Coverage Ratio has been implemented, its 100 percent threshold will be a minimum requirement in normal times. But during a period of stress, banks would be expected to use their pool of liquid assets, thereby temporarily falling below the minimum requirement," according to the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision, which oversees the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Financial Times (tiered subscription model)(1/8), Reuters(1/8)

Basel members' implementation of rules will be reviewed: All members of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, including the EU, Japan and the U.S., agreed to undergo a "detailed" review of their implementation of capital rules for banks. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said "the focus on implementation represents a significant new direction." The Telegraph (London)(1/8)