Commercial Paper Issuance Falls

In March 2016, an average of 95 AA-rated companies issued commercial paper per day. On March 29, 2017, only six such companies issued commercial paper. The reason behind the dramatic decline in commercial paper issuance is regulations enacted by the SEC to reduce risk in money market mutual funds. Historically, all money market funds had a net asset value (NAV) per share of $1. If the NAV dropped below $1, it was known as "breaking the buck" and had only occurred a limited number of times. In 2008, the Reserve Primary Fund became the largest money market fund to break the buck. In an attempt to reduce risk, the SEC changed the rules for institutional money market funds that means the NAV of these funds will not be pegged at $1. The result was a flight from institutional money market funds, reducing the availability of these funds as customers of commercial paper. This has made it more difficult for companies to raise short-term debt.