Treasury says tax-exempt funds can use new guaranty

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department said on Sunday tax-exempt money market funds would not jeopardize the tax-exempt treatment of their payments by participating in an emergency backstop program announced by the government this week.

"Participation in the temporary guaranty program will not be treated as a federal guaranty that jeopardizes the tax-exempt treatment of payments by tax-exempt money market funds," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Gary Hill)