The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Jessica Kane has been named the director of the agency’s Office of Municipal Securities, having served as deputy director since April 2014.  Ms. Kane replaces former director John Cross.

As deputy director, Ms. Kane oversaw all aspects of the office.  She played a leading role in the implementation and operation of the municipal advisor registration regime, including the issuance of staff interpretive guidance on certain aspects of the SEC’s final rules for municipal advisor registration.  Ms. Kane also led efforts in the oversight of Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rulemaking, including the SEC’s approval of the MSRB’s best execution rule for the municipal securities market.  She previously served as senior special counsel to the director.

“Jessica is a strong leader with sound judgment and great dedication, who will work tirelessly on behalf of investors,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White.  “She is the right person to lead the Office of Municipal Securities as the agency continues to play a crucial role in overseeing the municipal securities market.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as director of the Office of Municipal Securities,” said Ms. Kane.  “I look forward to continuing to work with Chair White, the Commissioners, and the extraordinary staff in the Office of Municipal Securities to carry out the SEC’s important mission in a market that is so essential to financing our country’s public infrastructure.”

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC established a stand-alone Office of Municipal Securities to administer SEC rules on practices of broker-dealers, municipal advisors, investors, and issuers in the municipal securities area and to coordinate with the MSRB on rulemaking and enforcement actions.  The Office of Municipal Securities advises the Commission and other SEC offices on policy matters, enforcement, and other issues affecting the municipal securities market and oversees MSRB rulemaking and the SEC’s municipal advisor registration program.

Ms. Kane first joined the SEC in 2007 in the Division of Corporation Finance where she worked on corporate securities disclosure matters until 2012.  She then worked in the agency’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs from 2012 to 2013.

Ms. Kane graduated with honors from Georgetown University, where she received her B.A. degree in English, with a minor in Economics.  She received her J.D. degree from George Mason University School of Law, where she was Executive Editor of the Civil Rights Law Journal.