Treasury Market Structure
The U.S. Treasury market is the foundation of the global financial system. With more than $28 trillion in securities outstanding and over $900 billion traded daily, Treasuries serve as a benchmark for interest rates worldwide and a critical source of liquidity, stability, and funding.
Treasury securities – bills, notes, and bonds – are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and have long been viewed as among the safest and most liquid assets available. Their reliability underpins monetary policy transmission, investor confidence, and global financial stability.
By the Numbers
Key Focus Areas
A series of market disruptions – including the 2014 Flash Rally, the 2019 repo market stress, and the March 2020 “Dash-for-Cash” episode – exposed structural vulnerabilities in the Treasury market. These events underscored a growing mismatch between the scale of U.S. debt issuance and the market’s capacity to intermediate that volume.
SIFMA is engaged with policymakers, regulators, and market participants to enhance Treasury market resiliency, ensure sufficient intermediation capacity, and preserve liquidity during periods of stress.
Public discussion of Treasury market reform has coalesced around four broad areas:
- Calibrating prudential regulations to ensure adequate dealer capacity;
- Expanding centralized clearing and “all-to-all” trading platforms;
- Improving transparency through enhanced data reporting and dissemination; and
- Exploring official sector tools, such as expanded access to the Federal Reserve’s Standing Repo Facility and Treasury buyback programs for off-the-run securities.
SIFMA advocates for reforms that enhance liquidity and resiliency without undermining the efficiency that define the U.S. Treasury market.
The Bottom Line
The U.S. Treasury market is the cornerstone of global finance. SIFMA is committed to ensuring its continued strength through thoughtful, data-driven reforms that promote liquidity, transparency, and resiliency – preserving the integrity of the world’s most trusted bond market.
