WSJ on Repo Safety Net
The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Cost of Repo Safety Net Hits $74 Billion," which claimed, "The tab for backstopping a type of short-term lending on Wall Street known as repurchase agreements has risen to $73.84 billion, according to a filing this month by Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., which operates the clearinghouse that facilitates trading in that market. That compares with a $50 billion estimate circulated two years ago by people familiar with the DTCC, a firm owned by banks and trading firms that is a key cog of Wall Street's plumbing. The total reflects an amount DTCC will seek in commitments from member firms to cover the cost of a special credit facility. That facility can be invoked if a member defaults and the clearinghouse’s other resources become exhausted, forcing its Fixed Income Clearing Corp. subsidiary to step into the shoes of the defaulting firm and assume its financial obligations." In other news, Reuters writes, "U.S. Money Market Assets Fall After Fed Raises Rates." It tells us, "U.S. money market fund assets recorded their biggest weekly drop in two months following the Federal Reserve's widely expected interest rate by a quarter percentage point last week, the Money Fund Report said on Wednesday. Money fund assets declined by $25.76 billion to $2.626 trillion in the week ended March 21, marking its biggest decrease since $27.08 billion in the Jan. 17 week."
