Federal securities regulators on Tuesday fined a municipal debt issuer for the first time ever, charging the seller of bonds used to finance an ice rink that ultimately fell into default with misleading investors about the project’s viability. In the strongest signal yet that it is serious about clamping down on misbehavior by municipal bond issuers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission extracted a $20,000 penalty from a special facilities district in the city of Wenatchee, Washington, about 140 miles east of Seattle. More on Reuters here.
