"U.S. Money Fund Exposure to European Banks Declines Moderately" says a report from Fitch Ratings. The release states Fitch "has just published a report, U.S. Money Fund Exposure to European Banks Declines Moderately, which updates (as of June 30) its analysis of the exposure of U.S. prime money market funds to European banks. The study, based on a sample of the 10 largest prime money market funds (MMFs), reveals that: European bank exposure on a dollar basis dropped by 8.7%, while total MMF assets in the sample decreased 7.5%; French exposure declined roughly in line with the overall decline in European exposure; and, U.K. dollar exposure remained essentially flat, but increased as a percentage of the funds' assets." See also, FT's "Money market funds cut euro bank exposure", which says, "US money market funds have sharply cut their exposure to banks in the eurozone over the past few weeks and reduced the availability of credit, even in stronger countries such as France. The money market funds, historically crucial providers of short term financing to European banks, have withdrawn from all but extremely short-term lending as concerns about sovereign debt have mounted."
