TITLE: European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Updated Stress Testing Guidelines for Money Market Funds
BODY:
On March 26, 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published updated guidelines on stress testing scenarios for money market funds (MMFs) under Regulation (EU) 2017/1131 on Money Market Funds (MMF Regulation).
The guidelines establish common benchmark parameters for stress testing scenarios that MMF managers must conduct in accordance with Article 28 of the MMF Regulation. These scenarios assess potential negative impacts on MMFs across six risk factors: hypothetical changes in asset liquidity levels, credit risk changes (including credit events and rating changes), interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, redemption levels, widening or narrowing of spreads on index-linked interest rates, and macroeconomic shocks affecting the broader economy.
The guidelines specify that MMF managers must conduct both general stress tests (sections 4.1 to 4.7) and common benchmark stress tests (section 4.8) whose results must be reported to competent authorities. The benchmark tests include liquidity stress testing (inverse liquidity test, weekly liquidity test, and concentration test), credit risk testing (spread shocks and concentration scenarios), interest rate and exchange rate testing, and macroeconomic stress scenarios. Section 5 provides detailed calibration parameters for each stress test, including liquidity discount factors for sovereign and corporate bonds, credit spread perturbations, interest rate swap disturbances, and foreign exchange shocks across multiple currencies and jurisdictions.
Competent authorities must notify ESMA within two months of publication whether they comply with these guidelines, or if not, provide reasons for non-compliance. MMF managers should use the specified parameters and methodologies to evaluate portfolio resilience and redemption capacity under stressed market conditions.