This paper examines whether the SEC’s mandate for central clearing of U.S. Treasury repo transactions could enable all-to-all trading and support the development of a standardized term repo market. By mitigating counterparty risk through central clearing, cash lenders may become more willing to transact directly with a broader set of borrowers, reducing reliance on dealer intermediation. Clearing may also encourage greater participation in term repos beyond overnight tenors if counterparty risk is reduced. However, for all-to-all trading to take hold, the market must adopt more standardized contract terms, collateral schedules, and operational protocols such as consolidated trade execution and post-trade processing. If these structural and operational hurdles are addressed, an all-to-all term repo market could emerge—enhancing liquidity, reducing rollover risk, and improving the resilience of the U.S. financial system.
Will Central Clearing Change the Market Structure of U.S. Treasury Repo to Become More Standardized and Trade on an All-to-All Basis?