clipped from: market-ticker.org NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Dresdner Kleinwort Securities has withdrawn from the Federal Reserve's primary U.S. government security dealers, the U.S. central bank said Friday.
The change is net neutral in terms of numbers as a new dealer just came online, but in general this is a major net negative for the Treasury market.
Why? Because being a primary dealer is, in general a license to print money. You get to field customer orders for Treasuries and make your spread, and you have a privileged trading position with The Fed.
There's only one fly in the ointment, and that is that the position comes with a requirement that you bid. This is distinct from most other nations where no such system exists, and essentially guarantees that there can never be a "failed" Treasury auction.