The Wall Street Journal writes "Regulators Seek Plan B on Money Funds". The article says, "Federal regulators are increasingly worried that the Securities and Exchange Commission could fail to complete more-stringent rules on money-market mutual funds, forcing officials to confront how else to rein in the $2.6 trillion industry. While financial regulators would prefer the SEC to act on its own, some officials behind the scenes have started to investigate whether the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a special panel created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, could act if the SEC can't agree on a proposal to shore up funds or reduce risk, according to people familiar with the situation. No formal discussion of FSOC action has taken place, the people said.... Behind the scenes, anxiety about the standoff has led some regulators to look closely at what other options the Dodd-Frank law provides. There appears to be no clear way to deal with the money funds short of having the FSOC designate each individual fund company as "systemically important" and thus subject to stricter regulation, according to people familiar with the situation. Regulators believe that the approach would be a long and politically difficult undertaking and would produce an inferior result compared to the SEC adopting new regulations, these people said. For instance, it could be difficult for regulators to designate all money funds. But internal pressure for the FSOC to act will continue to mount if it becomes clear the SEC won't be able to act, these people said."
