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Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 158 2024

How do Treasury dealers manage their positions?

Michael J. Fleming1; Giang Nguyen2; Joshua Rosenberg1

1 Federal Reserve Bank of New York · 2 Pennsylvania State University

open access

Abstract

Using 31 years of data (1990–2020) on U.S. Treasury dealer positions, we find that Treasury issuance is the main driver of dealers’ weekly inventory changes. Such inventory fluctuations are only partially offset in adjacent weeks and not significantly hedged with futures. Dealers are compensated for inventory risk by means of subsequent price appreciation of their holdings. Amid increased balance sheet costs attributable to post-crisis regulatory changes, dealers significantly reduce their position taking and layoff inventory faster. Moreover, the increased participation of non-dealers (investment funds) in the primary market contributes to diminishing compensation for inventory risk taken on at auctions.

DOI
10.1016/j.jfineco.2024.103885
Volume
158
Pages
103885
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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