Response to joint Consultation on mechanistic references to credit ratings in the ESAs’ guidelines and recommendations

Go back

In particular, do you agree with the proposed revisions of the ESMA Money Mar ket Funds Guidelines? If not, please suggest an alternative.

In principle, we agree that the proposed changes to paragraph 4 of Box 2 and paragraph 2 of Box 3 of the ESMA Money Market Funds Guidelines would help to avoid mechanistic reliance on credit ratings where such mechanistic assessments in practice are not already excluded by other means of regulation and/or restrictions.

However, we request that policy makers pay due regard to well established and well functioning internal risk processes that MMFs use to carry out credit assessments. We urge that disproportionate requirements with respect to the design, methodology and documentation of such internal credit quality assessment be avoided.

Name of organisation

AFME - Association for Financial Markets in Europe