Executive Summary 2016-17 President Clifford M. Gerber Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP San Francisco, CA My term as President was a busy and productive year for the organization and its Board of Directors. I tried to keep my finger on the pulse of things, though it was not always easy. From addressing pronouncements from the regulators in Washington, to providing NABL members with the educational content and opportunities that derive from our core mission, to enhancing our collaborative efforts with our industry counterparts, to elevating our game as lawyers in municipal finance, there was a lot to get done. It goes without saying the year was a turbulent one; we needed to stay agile and proactive while maintaining our focus on key issues. Among our more notable achievements as an organization: • At the beginning of my term we submitted comments to the IRS and Treasury on management and service contracts, which led to the issuance of new guidelines in Revenue Procedure <strong>2017</strong>-13. • As part of our winter meetings and for the first time, the Board went to Capitol Hill to visit with Congressional staff to advocate for the preservation of the tax exemption on state and local bonds. Though the elimination of advance refundings told us that we weren’t fully successful in our effort, it also delivered an important message to the industry that we all need to stay vigilant with respect to the status of state and local bonds. • Last spring, and then again in August, we provided written recommendations to the SEC with respect to its proposed amendments to Rule 15c2-12 relating to the disclosure of bank loans and other financial obligations. • In March the General Law & Practice Committee released the Demystifying DTC: The Depository Trust Company and the Municipal Market. The paper focuses on how DTC affects a municipal bond financing from closing to maturity. • Also in the spring the Board adopted a written Diversity Policy, to promote organization-wide inclusiveness in NABL Committees, projects and panels. • In an effort to move toward greater uniformity, NABL and SIFMA collaborated on, and completed during the first part of <strong>2017</strong>, a set of “issue price” documents, which the industry has by and large adopted. • In June, after years in the making, we released a Model Letter of Underwriter’s Counsel to our membership. • After years in the marking, in July we released a comprehensive paper to our membership covering the direct purchase of state or local bonds by financial institutions. All in all, I am proud of what we as a Board – and as an organization – accomplished, and I am grateful for the advice and counsel of my fellow officers and Board colleagues. Even more importantly, I am truly grateful to our dedicated members who, time and again, are tireless in their participation in NABL’s projects and conferences. 2
Financial Summary TOTAL REVENUES $2,903,919 TOTAL EXPENSES $2,849,083 ADJUSTED NET REVENUE $54,836 3
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