A seldom discussed part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) is how the deposit insurance assessment alteration impacted different types of banks. We provide details of the reform and investigate the effects on the banking industry. The DFA called for an expansion of the assessment base used to...

We examine the cost of liquidity in rates on CDs purchased by money market funds (MMFs). We find no evidence that rates vary directly with the size of CDs. However, we do find that large MMFs receive higher rates on large CDs than small MMFs. This suggests banks pay for (potential) liquidity.

NAV is at the forefront of a policy debate; namely, whether or not money market funds should switch from a fixed $1 to a floating NAV. The supporters of floating NAV argue that this will provide investors with better information regarding the value of the fund's underlying portfolio. However,...

Starting on December 18, 2008 the Federal Reserve began paying 25 basis points (bps) on the reserves of depository institutions. Theory argues that the rate paid on reserves establishes a floor for the federal funds market. Nonetheless, the effective federal funds rate has stayed well below this...