A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “informal inquiry” of San Bernardino, Calif.'s finances requires the bankrupt city to preserve bond documents and communications with underwriters, Bloomberg News reported today. The nature of the agency’s inquiry isn’t detailed in the Oct. 11 letter from Robert H. Conrrad, a Los Angeles-based SEC senior enforcement counsel, to City Attorney James Penman. It calls on city officials to preserve all records of securities offerings and written communications with underwriters, fiscal advisers and credit ratings companies. The SEC has stepped up efforts to enforce disclosure rules that apply to states and cities that raise money from investors, and has said it plans to recommend ways to improve regulation of the $3.7 trillion municipal-bond market.
