On November 28, MFA submitted comments in response to the Treasury Market Practices Group’s (TMPG) whitepaper on clearing and settlement in the secondary market for U.S. treasury securities.
MFA recommends that TMPG:
- Take a leadership role in identifying barriers that are preventing dealer-to-customer clearing of U.S. Treasuries;
- Consider whether best practices regarding trading venue disclosures of trading and operational practices, such as rules, membership criteria, trading protocols, fees, potential conflicts of interest and clearing and settlement practices, could improve overall market functioning and resiliency; and,
- Consider whether additional best practices would be appropriate to support the beneficial trend of increasing market participant diversification, along with any potential risks resulting from this evolution in market structure.