“The top U.S. securities regulator wants to make the bond market fairer for small investors, and that could take a bite out of profits for Wall Street’s biggest banks.

“Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White unveiled plans Friday to make pricing information in the combined $14 trillion corporate- and municipal-bond markets easier to get. Ms. White said such data are difficult for average investors to obtain, giving an advantage to powerful market intermediaries such as Wall Street banks.

“To even the playing field, Ms. White suggested requiring public dissemination of the best buy and sell orders generated on private electronic networks for corporate and municipal bonds that are accessed primarily by market insiders.

“Currently, investors typically see prices only after a trade is executed.”

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