Sen. Toomey Heralds SEC Decision
A press release put out last Thursday entitled, "Sen. Toomey Heralds SEC Decision Canceling Vote On New Money Market Fund Regulations," says, "U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) today heralded a Securities and Exchange Commission decision canceling a planned vote on imposing new burdensome regulations on money market mutual funds. The decision is the result of bipartisan opposition to the new rules, including the SEC's two Republican members and Democratic member Luis Aguilar." Toomey comments, "In an effort to minimize the risk of 'breaking the buck,' the SEC had been contemplating a rule which could have devastating consequences for this valuable investment and borrowing vehicle. Some regulators mistakenly believe that it is their responsibility to make it impossible for any money market fund to 'break the buck.' But it should not be the goal of government regulators to attempt to prevent the possibility of failure of the institutions they regulate. Regulation should focus on limiting systemic risk and providing adequate disclosure to investors, while allowing individual investors to make their own choices about where to invest their money and the risk they want to assume. Furthermore, money market funds offer investors and borrowers a stable and highly liquid financial instrument that plays an important role in our economic system. I urge other federal regulators to follow the SEC's bipartisan lead in eschewing these proposed regulations. The SEC has overseen the regulation of money market funds for four decades, and it understands the product best." The release adds, "Sen. Toomey has been at the forefront of the debate over the new regulations, joining with Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to send a bipartisan letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro urging caution in moving forward with the proposed regulations. The senator also met with SEC regulators, arguing that the money market fund industry is a stable and important financial instrument that has thrived for decades."
