The update directly regulates money market funds (MMFs) as low-risk, liquid cash-equivalent products, establishing stress-testing requirements under MMFR Article 28 that align with the Cash Equivalents category's focus on money market-like products.
Mandatory inheritance: Cash Equivalents as the primary tag automatically triggers Investment Services as the secondary tag, as MMF managers are investment service providers managing these liquid assets.
Specialism
The update mandates stress testing scenarios and reporting requirements for money market fund managers under MMFR Article 28, which constitutes regulatory reporting obligations.
Mandatory inheritance: Regulatory Reporting is a child of Supervision, so Supervision must be raised as the secondary tag.
2026-03-27 09:13:14·adavies@vixio.com
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TITLE: European Securities and Markets Authority Issues Updated Stress Testing Guidance for Money Market Funds
BODY:
On 26 March 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published updated guidance on stress testing scenarios for money market funds (MMFs) under the Money Market Funds Regulation (MMFR). The guidance establishes common benchmark parameters for stress test scenarios that MMF managers must conduct in accordance with Article 28 of the MMFR.
The guidance addresses stress testing across six key risk factors: hypothetical changes in asset liquidity levels, credit risk changes including credit events and rating downgrades, interest rate and foreign exchange movements, hypothetical redemption levels, changes in spreads between indices linked to portfolio securities, and macroeconomic shocks affecting the broader economy. MMF managers may employ both historical scenarios—reproducing parameters from past crises—and hypothetical scenarios designed to anticipate specific events or crises.
ESMA specifies that managers must conduct common benchmark stress tests whose results must be reported under Article 37 of the MMFR. These include a reverse liquidity stress test, weekly liquidity stress test, and concentration stress test for redemptions; credit margin stress tests and concentration tests; interest rate and foreign exchange shocks; and macroeconomic shock scenarios combining multiple risk parameters. The guidance includes detailed calibration parameters for 2025, developed in collaboration with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), covering discount factors for various asset classes, credit spread shocks by country and rating, interest rate swap shocks across currencies, and foreign exchange movements.
Competent authorities must communicate compliance status to ESMA within two months of publication in all official EU languages. The guidance applies two months following publication on ESMA's website, with certain provisions already applicable under Articles 44 and 47 of the MMFR.