Working Paper

The Regulatory and Monetary Policy Nexus in the Repo Market

Abstract: We examine the interaction of regulatory reforms and changes in monetary policy in the U.S. repo market. Using a proprietary data set of repo transactions, we find that differences in regional implementation of Basel III capital reforms intensified European dealers' window-dressing by 80%. Money funds eligible to use the Fed's reverse repo (RRP) facility cut their private lending almost by half and instead lent to the Fed when European dealers withdraw, contributing to smooth implementation of Basel III. In a difference-in-differences setting, we show that ineligible funds lent 15% less to European dealers as they find their withdrawal for reporting purposes inconvenient. We find that intermediation through the RRP led to quantity and not pricing adjustments in the market, which is consistent with the RRP facility anchoring market rates.

Keywords: Basel III regulations; Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve System; Monetary policy; Repo; Reverse repo facility;

JEL Classification: C32; E43; E52;

https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2018.027

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Part of Series: Finance and Economics Discussion Series

Publication Date: 2018-04-17

Number: 2018-027

Pages: 51 pages