DP10237 Dealer Networks

Author(s):	Dan Li, Norman Schürhoff
Publication Date:	November 2014
Keyword(s):	decentralization, immediacy, liquidity, market quality, municipal bonds, network analysis, over-the-counter financial market, trading cost, transparency
JEL(s):	G12, G14, G24
Programme Areas:	Financial Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=10237

Dealers in over-the-counter securities form networks to mitigate search frictions. The audit trail for municipal bonds shows the dealer network has a core-periphery structure. Central dealers are more efficient at matching buyers and sellers than peripheral dealers, which shortens intermediation chains and speeds up trading. Investors face a tradeoff between execution speed and cost. Central dealers provide immediacy by pre-arranging fewer trades and holding larger inventory. However, trading costs increase strongly with dealer centrality. Investors with strong liquidity need trade with central dealers and at times of market-wide illiquidity. Central dealers thus serve as liquidity providers of last resort.