Link of the Day
more links »"SEC puts off vote on rules for rating agencies"
The Associate Press writes "SEC puts off vote on rules for rating agencies", saying, "The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday delayed a plan to adopt new rules aimed at stemming conflicts of interest in Wall Street's credit rating industry." The SEC will next discuss the issue at a public meeting Dec. 3. Regarding money funds, AP says, "The SEC also proposed another set of rules that could reduce the influence of the credit rating industry by, among other things, making it possible for money-market funds to buy short-term debt without the current requirement that it be highly rated by the agencies. The SEC will consider all the proposals at next month's meeting, though the conflict-of-interest rules may be the only ones adopted." Another link to check today is the Federal Reserve's H.4.1 "Factors Affecting Reserve Balances" Series, which discloses weekly totals in the Fed's "Asset-backed commercial paper money market mutual fund liquidity facility" (currently $80.2 billion, down $11.5 billion from last week) and its "Net portfolio holdings of Commercial Paper Funding Facility LLC" (which total $249.9 billion). They will also post the MMIFF numbers once the program goes live next week.
Fitch Publishes Presale on 5 Money Mkt Investor Funding Facility ABCP Programs
"Fitch Publishes Presale on 5 Money Mkt Investor Funding Facility Related ABCP Programs," says a press release on MarketWatch via Businesswire. The release says, "Fitch Ratings has published a pre-sale report on 5 money market investor funding facility related (MMIFF) asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) programs. As detailed in the report, Fitch expects to assign an 'F1' [First Tier] rating to each of five ABCP programs that have been created in conjunction with the MMIFF. This Federal Reserve Board initiative is designed to provide liquidity to U.S. money market investors by facilitating the sales of money market instruments in the secondary market. The five programs are structurally identical and differ only with respect to each one's unique list of approved obligors." ABCP will be issued by the following programs: Hadrian Funding, $220 billion; Trajan Funding, $150 billion; Aurelius Funding, $140 billion; Antoninus Funding, $70 billion; and Nerva Funding, $20 billion. The MMIFF program is expected to go live next week. Also, see Bloomberg's "ABCPMMMFLF Spells Fed Relief for JPMorgan, Citi Shadow Banking", which says, "The U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency lending programs, intended to thaw commercial paper and money markets, are also helping banks limit losses from some of their $4 trillion in off-the-books guarantees and loan commitments," and Bloomberg's "Citi Agrees to Acquire SIV Assets for $17.4 Billion". Finally, see Reserve Yield Plus Update and "Joseph T. Monagle, Jr. Hired to Advise on [Reserve] Money Fund Liquidation."
"Guarantee for money-market funds facing renewal question" in NY Daily News
"Guarantee for money-market funds facing renewal question" writes New York Daily News. The article says, "After The Reserve Primary Fund broke the buck ... two months ago, investors began to question the safety of all money market funds. Many pulled their cash out. What got them to return is the U.S. Treasury's Temporary Guarantee Program for Money-Market Funds, which is set to expire next month." It quotes our Peter Crane, who expects the guarantees to be extended. "It's almost certain to be renewed. December is too soon.... The big question would be: Is anyone bold enough to step out of the program?" NY Daily News adds, "Crane even sees a possibility that the program will be expanded" and speculates that there's a good chance that the program may eventually become permanent. In other news, Bloomberg writes "AIG, GMAC Help Drive Up Bank Rates Amid 'Insanity' for Deposits", which quotes Pete Crane on some of the highest bank rates, "These banks have to offer a higher rate than anyone else to get over the stigma attached to their names."