Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports Market Liquidity after the Financial Crisis Tobias Adrian Michael Fleming Or Shachar Erik Vogt Staff Report No. 796 October 2016 Revised June 2017 This paper presents preliminary findings and is being distributed to economists and other interested readers solely to stimulate discussion and elicit comments. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors. Market Liquidity after the Financial Crisis Tobias Adrian, Michael Fleming, Or Shachar, and Erik Vogt Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, no. 796 October 2016; revised June 2017 JEL classification: G12, G21, G28 Abstract This paper examines market liquidity in the post-crisis era in light of concerns that regulatory changes might have reduced dealers’ ability and willingness to make markets. We begin with a discussion of the broader trading environment, including an overview of regulations and their potential effects on dealer balance sheets and market making, but also considering additional drivers of market liquidity. We document a stagnation of dealer balance sheets after the financial crisis of 2007-09, which occurred concurrently with dealer balance sheet deleveraging. However, using high-frequency trade and quote data for U.S. Treasury securities and corporate bonds, we find only limited evidence of a deterioration in market liquidity. Key words: liquidity, market making, Treasury securities, corporate bonds, regulation _________________ Fleming, Shachar: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (e-mails:
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[email protected]).