Moody's Revised MMF Rating Proposal Still Faces Scrutiny

Market participants are objecting to a proposal by Moody’s Investor Service to rate money market funds by factoring in a fund sponsor’s ability and willingness to support a “distressed fund”—that is, a fund that’s about to “break the buck” or is in financial distress.

Last September, Moody’s originally proposed that the sole determinant it would use in rating a money market fund would be based on a fund sponsor’s ability and willingness to support a distressed fund. But after receiving negative feedback on its proposal—including comments from Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke—Moody’s decided to revise its proposal.

In its revised proposal, released on Jan. 18, 2011, Moody’s “opted to lessen the impact that would be placed on fund sponsor support,” in determining a money market fund’s rating, says Jacob Nygren, a manager with Treasury Strategies in Chicago. Moody’s revised proposal states that, “…our expectation [is] that funds rated in the top category (Aaa-mf) would be sponsored by firms having an investment grade or equivalent credit profile.” Moody’s revised rating methodology also states that, “the quality of a fund’s sponsor will continue to be a factor in our ratings.”