House to Vote on Stable NAV Bill
Bloomberg writes "House Panel Backs Bill to Scrap Floating Prices for Money Funds". The article explains, "The House Financial Services Committee has advanced a bill that would eliminate some of the strictures placed on the $2.8 trillion money market mutual fund industry in the wake of the financial crisis. The legislation, which was opposed by Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group., BlackRock Inc. and other major asset managers, would repeal a 2014 requirement that the riskiest funds allow their share prices to float, rather than maintain a stable $1 value. The panel's action clears the way for a House vote on the measure. Representative Keith Rothfus, a Pennsylvania Republican who sponsored the legislation, said it aims to fix a "misguided Securities and Exchange Commission rule" that has disrupted markets and also caused municipal borrowing costs to rise. He said more than 60 lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, were co-sponsors of the bill. While the prospects for passage in the Senate are dim, the 34-21 committee vote is a victory for Federated Investors Inc., which has a large money fund business and has been fighting the SEC regulation for years. The Pittsburgh-based firm joined with state treasurers, pension funds and other businesses to form the Coalition for Investor Choice to lobby for the bill." The piece adds, "Other fund companies disputed the group’s contention that the SEC rule was responsible for increased borrowing costs for cities and towns. In a paper distributed on Capitol Hill, Vanguard attributed the rise to the Federal Reserve's decision to boost interest rates. "The coincidental timing of these increases and of money market reform has led to misidentification of the true causation of higher municipal yields," Vanguard wrote." (See also our Jan. 18 News, "More Opposition to and Coverage of Stable NAV Bill; Bank Group Balks.")
