SEC’s Schapiro: U.S. risk council must push for money market reforms


English: Lehman Brothers headquarters in New Y...

English: Lehman Brothers headquarters in New York City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reuters – The new financial risk council must consider what reform actions it can take to reduce the continuing systemic risk posed by money market funds, Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Schapiro wrote in an Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Money funds were long a sleepy corner of the fund industry, collecting money from investors and serving as leading buyers of short-term debt from corporations, municipalities and the U.S. government.

But in September 2008, the Reserve Primary Fund, one of the largest money funds, suffered losses on Lehman Brothers debt and could not maintain its $1 per share price, known as “breaking the buck.”

That ignited a run of withdrawals from investors across the industry, cutting off a major source of overnight funding for many corporations. more> http://tinyurl.com/8f7z2f4

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