The writer is chief legal officer of Citadel Securities and a former chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Since its establishment in 1790, the US Treasuries market has fuelled America’s emergence as an economic superpower.
Given its size and centrality to the global financial system, one would expect the US Treasuries market to have a modern structure. Yet the reality is that it has failed to keep pace with other financial markets. Recent shocks to the Treasuries market, including the pandemic-driven volatility of March 2020, highlight the need for structural reform. A wholesale rewrite is not required but a series of targeted changes could bring it more into the modern age.