A press release titled, "Airwallex Expands High-​Yield Treasury Offering to U.​S. Businesses; Surpasses US$​1 Billion in Global Assets Under Administration," tells us, "Airwallex, a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, ... announced the U.​S. launch of Yield, a treasury solution designed to help businesses optimize returns on idle cash. With Yield, customers can quickly and seamlessly move funds from their Airwallex cash balances into a AAA-​rated money market fund managed by J.​P. Morgan Asset Management, with the opportunity to earn returns that outperform traditional bank savings." It explains, "Since its initial debut in Australia just over two years ago, Yield has seen rapid global adoption, recently surpassing US$​1 billion in global assets under administration. Usage data highlights the specific drivers behind this growth: SME Market Traction: This momentum is driven by small-​to-​medium enterprises with less than $​10M in annual revenue, demonstrating that institutional-​grade returns are a critical priority for the segment. Operational Simplicity: Customers are using Yield as a '​set and forget' account, treating it with the ease of a traditional savings account to ensure their idle funds are consistently productive. Managing Global Volatility: The majority of these funds are held in USD, as companies increasingly seek to protect capital against local currency volatility and macro-​economic uncertainty." Jack Zhang, co-​founder and CEO of Airwallex, comments, "Topping $​1 billion is a testament to the demand for a new kind of banking experience -- one that is global, digital-​first, and institutional-​grade. With the launch of Yield in the U.​S., we are closing the gap in the market for a unified platform. We are giving U.​S. businesses a seamless way to operate across currencies, while ensuring their working capital is actively generating value, not sitting in an idle account." The release adds, "Airwallex Yield offers U.​S. businesses a sophisticated alternative to traditional savings accounts, which often offer negligible returns. By providing seamless access to an AAA-​rated money market fund managed by J.​P. Morgan Asset Management, Airwallex enables finance teams to optimize their USD balances with the liquidity required for daily operations."

The Investment Company Institute published its weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" on Thursday. The report shows money fund assets increasing by $​20.​1 billion to a record high $​7.​817 trillion, after rising by $​5.​7 billion the previous week. Eight weeks ago, assets hit their previous record $​7.​804 trillion. Assets have risen in 19 of the last 24 weeks and 27 of the past 33 weeks. MMF assets are up by $​791 billion, or 11.​3%, over the past 52 weeks (​through 3/​4/​26), with Institutional MMFs up $​550 billion, or 13.​1% and Retail MMFs up $​242 billion, or 8.​5%. Year-​to-​date in 2026, MMF assets are up by $​84 billion, or 1.​1%, with Institutional MMFs up $​79 billion, or 1.​7% and Retail MMFs up $​4 billion, or 0.​1%. ICI'​s weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $​20.​11 billion to $​7.​82 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, March 4, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $​18.​68 billion and prime funds increased by $​3.​41 billion. Tax-​exempt money market funds decreased by $​1.​98 billion." ICI'​s stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $​10.​1 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $​10.​1 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $​6.​430 trillion (​82.​3% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $​1.​244 trillion (​15.​9%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $​142.​2 billion (​1.​8%). It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $​10.​05 billion to $​3.​08 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​9.​24 billion to $​1.​95 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $​2.​43 billion to $​1.​00 trillion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​1.​62 billion to $​128.​97 billion." Retail assets account for 39.​4% of the total, and Government Retail assets make up 63.​3% of all Retail MMFs. They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $​10.​06 billion to $​4.​73 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​9.​44 billion to $​4.​48 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $​981 million to $​243.​05 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​366 million to $​13.​21 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.​6% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.​6% of all institutional MMF totals. According to Crane Data'​s separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have increased by $​300 million to $​8.​241 trillion month-​to-​date in March (​as of 3/​4), assets hit a record high the day prior (​3/​3) of $​8.​271 trillion. (​Our asset series previous record high, $​8.​253 trillion, was set on 3/​2/​26.) Assets increased by $​99.​5 billion in February, $​32.​9 billion in January, $​126.​3 billion in December, $​132.​8 billion in November, $​142.​1 billion in October, $​105.​2 billion in September and $​132.​0 billion in August. They rose $​63.​7 billion in July, $​6.​7 billion in June and $​100.​9 billion in May. MMFs fell by $​24.​4 billion in April, but rose $​2.​8 trillion in March and $​94.​2 billion last February. Note that ICI'​s asset totals don'​t include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they'​re almost $​400 billion lower than Crane'​s asset series.

The Investment Company Institute recently posted a "Viewpoint" titled, "The Repo Market Has Vulnerabilities. Mutual Funds Aren'​t One of Them." The brief tells us, "The repo market is essential to government bond markets and the broader financial system. It also finances leveraged trading strategies that are overwhelmingly undertaken by hedge funds, not regulated mutual funds. Yet recent concerns expressed by policymakers, including the Financial Stability Board and the European Central Bank, increasingly draw regulated funds into the scope of the debate simply because they appear as counterparties in repo transactions. Acting as a counterparty does not make a mutual fund the source of leverage or the driver of repo financed strategies. What matters is not who participates in repo transactions, but how vulnerabilities are generated." It continues, "The real vulnerabilities lie in structural leverage, heavy reliance on short-​term funding, and concentrated intermediation. The latest report on government bond-​backed repo markets, covering roughly $​16 trillion in activity, illustrates exactly how those vulnerabilities arise. It points to dependence on overnight funding, concentrated clearing and dealer capacity, and leverage embedded in financing channels as key amplifiers of stress. About half of repo transactions are financed overnight, meaning that funding can disappear precisely when markets come under strain. These are structural vulnerabilities. They are not created by the presence of regulated mutual funds on the other side of a trade." ICI adds, "In repo markets, regulated funds typically act as counterparties and liquidity providers, not as sources of fragility. Conflating constrained, regulated fund activity with leveraged financing strategies risks obscuring the real problem and targeting the wrong mechanisms altogether.... The risk does not arise from price-​alignment strategies themselves. It arises from how those strategies are financed -- through significant leverage, short-​term funding, and reliance on concentrated intermediaries. Targeting regulated funds does nothing to address those financing mechanics." (​See also the OFR'​s, "Hedge Fund Participation in Cleared Repo.")

Fitch Ratings recently published, "U.​S. Money Market Funds Monitor: 4Q25." It states, "Total taxable money market fund (​MMF) assets increased by $​386.​5 billion, a 5.​1% rise since the prior quarter, and grew by $​918.​2 billion over the year to a record high of $​7.​95 trillion, representing a 13% YoY increase, according to Crane Data. Government and Treasury MMFs gained $​213.​9 and $​159.​8 billion in assets during the quarter, while Prime MMFs saw more modest inflows of just $​12.​8 billion. These flows continue the trends seen in the first three quarters of 2025, reflecting investors' appetite for safety and liquidity amid mixed economic signals, geopolitical risks, and spread compression in credit alternatives." Fitch'​s update continues, "Taxable MMFs increased exposure to Treasuries by $​290.​8 billion and Repos by $​219.​2 billion over the quarter. FICC-​cleared repos accounted for $​155.​2 billion of repo volume, reaching a record high of $​1.​3 trillion in December. Meanwhile, commercial paper decreased by $​24 billion, according to Crane Data. This shift in allocations reflects managers' preference for liquidity and credit quality, even as two Fed rate cuts in Q4 provided incentives to capture higher yields. Increased Treasury allocations allowed MMFs to lock in yields as rates declined, while repos offered flexibility and access to liquidity during seasonal, year-​end flows and narrower spreads muted appetite for credit." It adds, "Throughout 2025, the Federal Reserve implemented three rate cuts totaling 75 basis points, bringing the federal funds target down to 3.​50-​3.​75% by year-​end. These actions, driven by moderating inflation and a softening labor market, set the stage for declining money market fund yields. Institutional government and prime MMF net yields dropped by 36 basis points in Q4, ending the year at 3.​59% and 3.​69%, respectively. Looking ahead, further but more gradual easing is expected in 2026. This will likely keep MMF yields on a downward path, though investor demand is expected to remain strong given expectations for a moderate neutral rate range."

Money fund yields (​7-​day, annualized, simple, net) were down 1 basis point to 3.​49% on average during the week ended Friday, February 27 (​as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after increasing 1 basis point the week prior. Fund yields haven'​t been below 3.​5% since November 2022, and they are down from a recent high of 5.​20% in November 2023. They should remain flat in coming days (​and weeks) since the Fed left short-​term rates unchanged five weeks ago. Yields were 3.​58% on 12/​31/​25, 3.​78% on 11/​30, 3.​90% on 10/​31, 3.​94% on 9/​30, 4.​11% on 8/​31, 4.​12% on 7/​31, 4.​13% on 6/​30, 4.​14% on 3/​31/​25 and 4.​28% on average on 12/​31/​24. MMFs averaged 4.​75% on 9/​30/​24, 5.​10% on 6/​28/​24, 5.​14% on 3/​31/​24 and 5.​20% on 12/​31/​23. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (​currently 681), shows a 7-​day yield of 3.​39%, unchanged in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 1 bp at 3.​60% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.​49%. Treasury Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.​45%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.​21%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.​19% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.​39%, Tax-​exempt MF 7-​day yields were down 28 bps to 1.​76%. Money market mutual fund assets have paused since hitting a record high of $​8.​246 trillion on February 26, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets have risen $​26.​9 billion in the week through Friday, and they'​ve increased by $​99.​5 billion in February month-​to-​date (​through 2/​27). MMF assets increased by $​32.​9 billion in January, $​126.​3 billion in December, $​132.​8 billion in November, $​142.​1 billion in October, $​105.​2 billion in September and $​132.​0 billion in August. They rose by $​63.​7 billion in July, $​6.​7 billion in June and $​100.​9 billion in May. But MMFs decreased $​24.​4 billion in April. Assets increased by $​2.​8 billion in March, and $​94.​2 billion last February. Weighted average maturities were at 41 days for the Crane MFA and 42 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday'​s Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (​2/​27), just 158 money funds (​out of 791 total) yield under 3.​0% with $​192.​2 billion in assets, or 2.​3%, while the vast majority (​633) of funds yield between 3.​00% and 3.​99% ($​8.​049 trillion, or 97.​7%). No funds yield over 4.​0%. Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-​insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.​30%, after falling 1 basis point ten weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of February 27, shows no changes over the past week. Four of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI offer rates of 0.​01% for balances of $​100K (​and lower tiers). These include: E*​Trade, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Schwab.

Bloomberg writes, "Federal Bank Regulator Moves to Restrict US Stablecoin Rewards." The article explains, "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed rules that would restrict companies from launching branded stablecoins through white-​label platforms and offering rewards tied to them, the agency'​s first major attempt to implement the federal cryptocurrency law signed by President Donald Trump in July. The proposed rulemaking, introduced this week, takes aim at stablecoin-​as-​a-​service platforms operated by firms like Paxos, Stripe Inc.’​s Bridge and Anchorage Digital Bank that allow technology companies to issue their own branded stablecoins -- arrangements the banking industry has warned could siphon deposits from traditional lenders. The OCC is attempting to address the banking industry'​s concerns." The piece quotes Jonathan Gould, head of the OCC, from a Senate Banking Committee hearing, "If you look in our proposal, which we released yesterday, we have hard wired a number of things into our proposal that we believe would tend to reduce the probability of deposit flight. If deposit flight were to occur, I think we would notice it, meaning it wouldn'​t occur under cover of darkness, where no one would see it and fail to react to it." Bloomberg adds, "The OCC is considering and requesting comment on plans to restrict each permitted payment stablecoin issuer to offer only one brand of stablecoin. If that restriction is put in place, the regulator would streamline the process for approving applications to become permitted payment stablecoin issuers. Paxos' arrangement issuing PayPal Holdings Inc.'​s PYUSD coin, which offers 4% rewards on customer balances, for example, would likely not be able to continue if the current language stands."

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