"FDIC's Bair: Money Market Industry Needs More Reform" writes Dow Jones, saying, "The money market funds industry needs more reform, a top U.S. banking regulator said Friday. During the financial crisis, money market funds 'were an accident waiting to happen, and it did happen,' Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation head Sheila Bair said. Citing the profile of investment funds that act much like banks but without the capital or access to the safety net, the official said 'I think it's just so obvious' this needs to change.... Bair's comment came in response to an audience question at an event held in New York by the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. The main trade group for the mutual fund industry, however, opposes requirements that such funds be subject to regulation or insurance." The ICI said to Dow Jones in response, "We oppose proposals that would undermine money market funds' core value to investors.... [Money funds] are subject to risk-limiting regulations and only invest in high-quality, highly liquid, transparent assets with short maturities."
