Information on bids: disclose or not?

U.S. banks may be forced to disclose more information on bids for Dutch auctions after dealers stopped buying the securities, causing a wave of failures that has squeezed local governments across the United States .

The U.S. Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to ask the public whether new rules should require disclosure of information about the securities .

Auction-rate bonds are long-term debt with interest rates reset according to bids submitted to banks and securities firms every seven, 28 or 35 days. Banks stopped their typical practice of buying the securities for their own accounts to prevent failures after losses on debt linked to sub prime mortgages led to downgrades of some of the bond insurers that back most auction notes.

The board may require that dealers reveal the number of bidders and how often auctions fail in the $330 billion market.