SEC, Treasury Push for Improved Reporting of Treasurys Trades

WASHINGTON—U.S. policy makers on Monday announced plans to increase oversight of the roughly $13 trillion Treasurys market, taking steps to better monitor the world's most liquid securities market where trading has grown more volatile in recent years.

The Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission asked the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a Wall Street watchdog overseen by the SEC, to consider creating a data feed that the government could use to track trades of Treasury bonds. No such centralized repository currently exists for the trades.

"The need for more comprehensive official sector access to data, particularly with respect to Treasury cash market activity, is clear," said Antonio Weiss, counselor to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

Monday's request is the latest response to the unusual volatility in the Treasury markets on Oct. 15, 2014, when yields on the 10-year note plummeted and quickly rebounded without an obvious catalyst.

Finra said in a written statement that it "welcomes" the request.

Write to Andrew Ackerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 16, 2016 16:45 ET (20:45 GMT)

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