Staff Reports
COVID Response: The Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility
Number 980
September 2021

JEL classification: G23, G28, G11

Authors: Kenechukwu Anadu, Marco Cipriani, Ryan M. Craver, and Gabriele La Spada

In this article, we discuss the run on prime money market funds (MMFs) that occurred in March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and describe the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF), which the Federal Reserve established in response to it. We show that the MMLF, like a similarly structured Federal Reserve facility established during the 2008 financial crisis, was an important tool in stemming investor outflows from MMFs and restoring calm in short-term funding markets. The usage of the facility was higher by funds that suffered larger outflows. After the facility’s introduction, outflows from prime MMFs decreased more for those funds that had a larger share of illiquid securities. Importantly, following the introduction of the MMLF, interest rates on MMLF-ineligible securities decreased at a slower rate than those on MMLF-eligible securities, even after controlling for credit risk.

This paper was prepared for an upcoming issue of the Economic Policy Review and a related New York Fed conference, “Implications of Federal Reserve Actions in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Available only in PDF
Author Disclosure Statement(s)
Kenechukwu Anadu
I, Kenechukwu Anadu, declare that I have no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

Marco Cipriani
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

Ryan M. Craver
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

Gabriele La Spada
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

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