The SEC has compiled a list of 155 money market funds that obtained SEC staff permission to receive assistance from their management companies during the financial turmoil of 2007 and 2008. According to Bloomberg, the report was requested by Senator Patrick Toomey (R-PA) after Chairman Schapiro testified in June that fund companies had sought permission to provide support for funds more than 300 times since the 1970s. Chairman Schapiro used this figure to bolster her argument that additional reforms to money market funds are necessary.
According to Bloomberg, many in the industry believe the list is misleading. During this time period, fund companies often requested prospective relief for all of their money market funds in case it was needed in the future. In reality, many funds that were included in these requests, and counted by the SEC in their list of funds seeking support, never actually needed to rely on the relief.