Money Market Investors Now Eligible for Fed Funds

By Jeannine Aversa

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve is allowing more companies to take part in a program aimed at bolstering the money market mutual fund industry.

The Fed says newly eligible participants now include a range of money market investors, rather than just money market funds.

The Fed's program, called the Money Market Investor Funding Facility, is used to support a private-sector initiative designed to provide liquidity, or cash, to the money market industry.

The Fed backs purchases of short-term debt, including certificates of deposit and commercial paper that expire in three months or less, from money market mutual funds.