The systematic effect of money market funds on the wider financial system is a topic of hot debate, with finance ministers, regulators, and standard setting bodies all over the globe weighing in. The New York Federal Reserve Bank is the latest to do so, asking "does money market fund intermediation make the banking system inherently unstable?" The New York Fed's latest paper, "Money Market Funds Intermediation, Bank Instability, and Contagion," addresses the question by comparing two market structures – direct finance, where investors deposit directly into the banks, and money market fund intermediation, where the relationship between investors and banks is intermediated through money market funds. The paper concludes that, because money market funds are themselves subject to runs, the intermediation they provide to investors makes the financial system more fragile, and acts as a source of contagion when a run occurs.