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Journal of Banking & Finance Vol. 107 2019

The decline in idiosyncratic values of US Treasury securities

Miles Livingston1; Yanbin Wu2; Lei Zhou3

1 University of Florida · 2 Emory University · 3 Northern Illinois University

open access

Abstract

Unique features and market frictions can lead to idiosyncratic pricing for some US Treasury securities. This study uses a linear programming (LP) model to measure aggregate idiosyncratic pricing of T-notes and T-bonds from 1980 to 2016. We document an average idiosyncratic pricing of $0.11 per $100 par, as compared to an average bid-ask spread of $0.08. Further, idiosyncratic pricing declined dramatically from the early 1980s to the 2010s. Empirical evidence suggests that the 1986 Tax Reform Act, increasing issue sizes and improving market liquidity contribute to the decline. At the individual security level, we identify factors contributing to and mitigating idiosyncratic pricing.

DOI
10.1016/j.jbankfin.2019.08.001
Volume
107
Pages
105603
Language
en
Sources
crossref openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib

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