# Finance and Economics Discussion Series

#### Dealer Networks

Dan Li and Norman Schurhoff
2014-95

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Municipal bonds, over-the-counter financial market, network analysis, trading cost, liquidity, immediacy, transparency

Full paper (1 MB PDF)