The European Union (Money Market Funds) Regulations 2018 — Ireland
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S.I. 269/2018 is Ireland's short implementing measure for the EU Money Market Funds Regulation. It names the Central Bank of Ireland as competent authority and sets how the Bank may withdraw an MMF authorisation. It contains five regulations and no product rules. Eligible assets, liquidity, valuation and reporting come straight from the EU regulation. Its Article 1(2) bars additional national requirements in the field it covers.
Scope and mechanism
The Minister for Finance made the Regulations on 19 July 2018. The power used was section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972. Their stated purpose is to give full effect to Regulation (EU) 2017/1131. Regulation 1 cites them as the European Union (money market funds) Regulations 2018. It brought them into operation on 21 July 2018, the EU regulation's general application date (Art. 47).
A directly applicable EU regulation needs no transposition of its substance. What it does need is national machinery, and that is all this S.I. supplies. Regulation 2 borrows its definitions from existing Irish law. "AIF" takes its meaning from Regulation 5(1) of the AIFM Regulations 2013. "UCITS" takes its meaning from Regulation 4(3) of the UCITS Regulations 2011. Any other term used in both texts has its EU meaning, unless the context otherwise requires.
In practice: an MMF is a UCITS or an AIF whose MMF authorisation names its type (Arts. 1, 3 and 4). A new UCITS can obtain both authorisations together. The withdrawal power in Regulation 4 reaches the MMF authorisation, and says nothing about the UCITS or AIF authorisation.
Key provisions
| Provision | What it says | The practical point |
|---|---|---|
| Competent authority (Reg. 3) | The Central Bank of Ireland is the competent authority in the State for the MMF Regulation. | Managers report to the Bank at least quarterly, or yearly for an MMF with €100 million or less (Art. 37). Stress-test results form part of that report, and a test showing a weakness adds an action plan (Art. 28). |
| Withdrawal grounds (Reg. 4(1)) | The Bank may withdraw an MMF authorisation where the MMF or its manager breaches listed articles. These cover asset composition, portfolio rules, credit assessment, governance and transparency, and valuation. | Each ground maps to named EU articles, such as Articles 9 to 16 for assets and Articles 29 to 34 for valuation. Misuse of the "MMF" name under Article 6 is also a ground. |
| False statements (Reg. 4(1)(c)) | Authorisation obtained through false statements or other irregular means is a ground for withdrawal. | The ground looks back to the application under Article 4 or 5 of the EU regulation. |
| Procedure (Reg. 4(2)) | The Bank first gives written notice with its reasons. The MMF or manager has 15 days from service to make written representations. | The Bank must consider those representations before deciding whether to proceed. |
| Appeal (Reg. 4(3)) | A decision to withdraw is an appealable decision under Part VIIA of the Central Bank Act 1942. | The 15-day representation window comes first. The appeal route applies once the Bank decides. |
| Central Bank Act 1942 (Reg. 5) | Adds the MMF Regulation to section 2(2A) and to the "supervisory EU legal acts" in section 33AK(10). Adds these Regulations as item 73 in Part 2 of Schedule 2. | These entries bring the MMF regime inside the Bank's general statutory powers. The effect of each entry is listed under To verify. |
Amendment history
| Date | Instrument | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 2018 | S.I. 269/2018 | Made by the Minister for Finance; in operation from 21 July 2018. Notice of the making was published in Iris Oifigiúil on 24 July 2018. |
What it works with
The substance sits in the EU Money Market Funds Regulation and its Level 2 acts. This S.I. adds only the Irish supervisory layer. The fund wrapper comes from separate law. A UCITS MMF is authorised under the UCITS Regulations 2011, read with the Central Bank's own UCITS Regulations. An AIF MMF needs an AIFM authorised under AIFMD, which need not be in Ireland (Art. 5(1) and (5)). For an Irish AIFM, that is the AIFM Regulations 2013. The EU parent of the UCITS layer is the UCITS Directive.
In practice: before withdrawing, the Bank must give notice, allow 15 days for written representations and consider those made; the decision is then appealable (Reg. 4(2) and (3)). A breach of the EU portfolio rules can cost an Irish fund its MMF status (Reg. 4(1)(b)). It may then no longer call itself a money market fund (Art. 6).
To verify
- Later amendments: whether any S.I. has amended S.I. 269/2018 since 2018, per the Irish Statute Book legislation directory entry for the instrument (the linked made text cannot show later changes).
- Administrative sanctions: whether item 73 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 brings MMF breaches within the Part IIIC sanctions procedure of the Central Bank Act 1942.
- Penalties under Article 40: which Irish provision lays down the penalties that Article 40 of the EU regulation requires.
- Central Bank rules: whether the Bank's funds rulebooks add MMF-specific conditions, given the EU bar on extra requirements.
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