The Structure of the Treasury Market: What Are We Learning?
Governor Lael Brainard
At “The Evolving Structure of the U.S. Treasury Market” Fourth Annual Conference Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, New York
Let me discuss one other step the Board is planning to take to help us keep up with the changing nature of markets. The TRACE data are indispensable in the IAWG’s ability to track and understand this market. However, FINRA’s collections are limited only to its members. The Federal Reserve is close to finalizing an agreement with FINRA to act as our agent in expanding the collection of Treasury transactions to key banks that are also active in this market. In addition, in light of recent changes in the market, the Board has decided to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to seek public comment on collecting agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and debt transactions as well. This collection will help round out the IAWG’s view of these markets and ensure continuous coverage in circumstances where trading moves between the bank and the broker-dealer within a firm. It is important that reporting thresholds be appropriately tailored to avoid imposing undue burden on smaller firms, and we will be particularly attentive to public comments on this matter.
The full speech is available at https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/brainard20181203a.htm