The asset management arm of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is to get out of US money-market funds, liquidating three funds that have about $8 billion in assets, according to regulatory filings reported by Reuters.

They are the $6.9 billion Prime Portfolio, the $581 million Government Portfolio and the $574 million Cash Reserve Fund; the reason given for the liquidations was that Credit Suisse Asset Management "intends to cease managing US money market funds in the near future."

The funds will be closed to new investors from 22 December and liquidated in early 2009, the filings said. "We have decided to wind these funds down to focus and invest in areas where we have scale and can deliver competitive advantages, in line with our overall asset management strategy," Credit Suisse spokesman Bruce Corwin is reported as saying in a statement on Wednesday.