The firm will build on relationships that Cambridge's founders have maintained with municipal issuers over the years.

The slow day did not dissuade a number of corporate and municipal issuers from offering new debt securities, however.

As the consolidations continue, corporate clients are probably in better shape than municipal issuers.

Municipal bonds are issued by states, cities, and counties, (the municipal issuer) to raise funds.

The other proposal would oblige municipal issuers to continue providing financial information to bondholders after a bond is issued.

But bringing such cases is tricky, because the agency lacks direct jurisdiction over municipal issuers.

"We're trying to find out whether municipal issuers were overcharged, and if they were, was fraud involved."

In the current low-rate environment, a large number of municipal and corporate issuers are exercising the call provisions on high-yielding securities.

According to Goldman, Sachs, the new concept offers municipal issuers short-term interest rates on long-term debt issues.

Equally unknown is what these new policies will mean for municipal issuers and underwriters.