Investors worried about losses at a money fund may feel some incentive to be among the first to withdraw from the fund, before it breaks the buck or puts up redemption gates in the face of large outflows. The shortening of maturities in the commercial paper market was similarly reminiscent of the GFC.
It appears that these short-term funding markets remain an unstable source of funding in times of considerable financial stress. The Fed and other financial agencies have accomplished a lot in requiring or encouraging market participants to rely less on unstable short-term funding, but it is worth asking whether there may be other steps needed to secure these very important sources of liquidity.