Increased transparency is expected to boost confidence in the fairness of what has previously been a fairly opaque market. Making the muni market more attractive to retail investors could lower the cost of capital to issuers in the long run.
For state and local issuers, price transparency is expected to provide more information on the way their bonds trade both initially and in the secondary market, which could ultimately give them more power when negotiating with underwriters on pricing bonds.
Issuers and investors can access municipal bond pricing information at www.investinginbonds.com, as well as www.bondbuyer.com and several other Web sites.