Money Market News
The European Central Bank's (ECB) Isabel Schnabel recently gave a speech titled "From Money Market Funds to Stablecoins: Lessons for Central Banks," which discussed the history and parallels of money market mutual funds with stablecoins. She says, "The nature of money has never been static. Over the centuries, financial innovation has reshaped how money is created, transferred and stored, often enhancing efficiency, broadening access and boosting economic welfare. When such innovations reach scale, they alter the structure of the financial system, with consequences for financial stability, monetary policy and the international monetary order. One recent innovation has been stablecoins. These are privately issued digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies and typically backed by portfolios of traditional assets. Their rapid rise has raised questions about their benefits and challenges. To understand the unfolding changes, it is worth looking at how earlier innovations transformed financial markets." (Note: Register soon for our upcoming Money Fund Symposium, which takes place in just 3 weeks in Jersey City, N.J., June 24-26. We look forward to seeing you later this month!)
A statement titled, "BNY Investments Dreyfus Money Market Rebrand," explains, "Effective May 29, 2026, Dreyfus money market funds will update names, adding 'BNY' to recognize the depth of expertise, technology and history brought by Dreyfus as a vital component of the BNY ecosystem. These are part of the BNY Investments Dreyfus family of funds, which are advised by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. and sub-advised by Dreyfus. Tickers, Cusips and access stay the same with no action needed." (See the SEC filing here. Crane Data will be renaming the funds in its June issue of Money Fund Intelligence, which ships on Friday.)
Barron's writes again on Sweeps and AI in "How AI Could Kill Charles Schwab and the Brokerage Industry's Cash Cow." The article says, "Charles Schwab spent a good chunk of its six-hour-long investor day on May 14 explaining to analysts and shareholders how the company is using artificial intelligence to boost its business. Investors, however, are far more focused on whether AI poses a threat to the substantial profits Schwab derives from so-called sweep cash, the money that clients hold in brokerage accounts that earn almost no interest. AI could change that equation by powering tools that allow investors to automatically move idle cash from their brokerage account to money-market funds or other higher-yielding accounts that are far less profitable for Schwab, as well as other brokerages that derive profits from customers' cash."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Statistics" summary, which shows that total money fund assets decreased by $102.3 billion in April 2026 to $8.188 trillion, after falling to $8.290 trillion the month prior and hitting a record high $8.341 trillion two months prior. The SEC shows Prime MMFs decreased $26.2 billion in April to $1.356 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds decreased $75.9 billion to $6.680 trillion and Tax Exempt funds decreased $0.3 billion to $151.6 billion. Taxable yields were mixed in April, while Tax Exempt MMFs yields were higher. The SEC's Division of Investment Management summarizes monthly Form N-MFP data and includes asset totals and averages for yields, liquidity levels, WAMs, WALs, holdings, and other money market fund trends. We review their latest numbers below. (Our MFI XLS monthly shows money fund assets decreasing $99.0 billion in April 2026 to $8.099 trillion. In May month-to-date through 5/28, total money fund assets have increased by $197.6 billion to a record high $8.281 trillion, according to Crane Data's separate, and slightly smaller, MFI Daily series.)
The Investment Company Institute's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets rising $13.4 billion to $7.785 trillion, after they increased $16.9 billion the previous week and jumped by $127.0 billion three weeks ago. MMFs fell by a massive $175.8 billion six weeks ago, their largest weekly drop ever. Assets hit a record high $7.856 trillion ten weeks ago. MMF assets are up by $836 billion, or 12.0%, over the past 52 weeks (through 5/27/26), with Institutional MMFs up $614 billion, or 15.0% and Retail MMFs up $222 billion, or 7.7%. Year-to-date in 2026, MMF assets are up by $51 billion, or 0.7%, with Institutional MMFs up $36 billion, or 0.8% and Retail MMFs up $15 billion, or 0.5%.
Reuters writes "UK to tighten money market fund rules by end of year." The article explains, "Britain will impose tougher rules later this year on money market funds, which have been a focus of regulators since market turmoil in March 2020, when they were hit by heavy redemptions during a COVID-19-induced 'dash for cash'. Legislation will establish a new regulatory framework with the expectation that the 300 billion pound ($405 billion) sterling money market fund sector will hold more liquid assets, the government said in a statement [earlier this month]." (See our May 18 News, "EC Report Proposes Higher Weekly Liquidity Levels for European MMFs;" our May 15 News, "European Money Fund Assets Inch Down to $1.67 Tril; MFI Intl Holdings," which says, 'The FCA, which regulates markets in the U.K., published a policy paper titled, 'Reforms to Money Market Fund Regulations;'' and our May 26 News, "European Money Fund Symposium Heads to Paris, Sept. 24-25; CD Events.")
The Wall Street Journal published a story titled "Stablecoins Are Private Money. That's Why They're a Risk to the Economy," which tells us, "To proponents, stablecoins are crypto's killer app. They will make payments faster and more efficient, especially across borders, than the legacy banking system makes possible. With that promise, though, comes the risk that this could lead to a financial crisis, much like some past experiments with private money. Both the Genius Act, signed into law last year, and the Clarity Act now making its way through the Senate, aim to make stablecoins safer and more mainstream. But no legislation can fully remove risk that is intrinsic to the design of stablecoins. Stablecoin issuers and affiliated platforms are private enterprises driven to increase usage and profit via the assets they hold to back their coins, the 'rewards' they pay to users, and the sorts of activity they tolerate."
With just 4 months to go, we're ramping up preparations for the 12th Annual Crane's European Money Fund Symposium, which will take place Sept. 24-25 at the Pullman Hotel in Paris, France. The full agenda is now available and registrations are now being taken for our European money market mutual fund event. We provide more details on the show below. Our 2025 European Symposium event in Dublin attracted almost 200 money fund professionals, sponsors and speakers. Given the continued growth in money fund assets, trends like tokenization and expectations for another round of regulatory changes in Europe, we expect our show in Paris to once again be the largest gathering of money market professionals outside the U.S. (Note: We're still taking registrations for our big U.S. Money Fund Symposium show, which is next month, June 24-26, in Jersey City. We look forward to seeing you in NJ!)
BNY Dreyfus has filed to launch a tokenized money market fund, according to a recent SEC filing for the pending BNY Dreyfus On-Chain Liquidity Fund. The filing, under the Dreyfus Government Cash Management Funds umbrella, says, "The fund seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with the preservation of capital and the maintenance of liquidity.... The fund pursues its investment objective by investing in (i) U.S. Treasury bills, notes, or bonds (collectively, U.S. Treasury securities), (ii) overnight repurchase agreements collateralized solely by U.S. Treasury securities and/or cash, and (iii) cash. The fund is a money market fund subject to the maturity, quality, liquidity and diversification requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and seeks to maintain a stable share price of $1.00. The U.S. Treasury securities in which the fund invests have a remaining maturity of 93 days or less or are issued with a maturity of 93 days or less."
The Central Bank of Ireland published, "DLT & Tokenisation in Financial Services" recently, which states, "Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has the potential to have profound implications for the financial system. The integration of DLT into mainstream finance presents clear potential benefits for providers and users of financial services, but also challenges that need to be managed. Understanding how tokenisation interacts with existing financial infrastructures, legal frameworks, forms of money and settlement, and market practices is therefore critical to ensuring that innovation supports and effects positive change, while maintaining monetary and financial stability, consumer protection and market integrity. The Central Bank of Ireland is issuing this Discussion Paper (DP) to stimulate informed dialogue on the future role of DLT and tokenisation applications within the Irish and European financial services ecosystem."
A press release titled, "Moody's Ratings assigns Aaa-mf assessment to BlackRock's BUIDL fund," tells us, "Moody's Ratings (Moody's) has assigned an Aaa-mf assessment to BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund Ltd. (BUIDL or the "Fund"), a tokenized liquidity fund that seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. The Fund aims to preserve principal and provide liquidity to investors on demand by investing 100% of its assets in cash, short-term US Treasury instruments and repurchase agreements secured by such obligations. The Fund limits its investments to securities with maturities of 93 days or less."
The SEC published its latest quarterly "Private Funds Statistics" report recently, which summarizes Form PF reporting and includes some data on "Liquidity Funds," or pools which are similar to but not money market funds. The publication shows overall Liquidity fund assets were higher in the latest reported quarter (Q3'25) at $414 billion (up from $389 billion in Q2'25 and up from $369 billion in Q3'24). We also again briefly review the SEC's "Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers" which went into effect almost two years ago, below.
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