Governance |
SEC Considers Changes to MMF Regulation
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Business groups want the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to proceed cautiously with any reforms to the regulation of money market funds (MMFs) that are used by companies in need of low-cost, short-term financing. The impetus for the SEC is reforms advocated by the Report of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.
The report, published on December 22, 2020, laid out possible reforms such as removing the tie between MMF liquidity and fee and gate thresholds, reforming rules regarding redemption gates, and instituting a “minimum balance at risk” to internalize the liquidity costs of investors.
Bill Hulse, vice president of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urged the SEC to proceed with caution. “Reforms to MMF regulation may be necessary to improve market functioning, but these reforms should be carefully considered as part of the broader regulatory structure for financial markets,” he said.
