The SEC Division of Economic and Risk Analysis ("DERA") issued a report on how Dodd-Frank and other financial regulations have impacted (i) access to capital and (ii) market liquidity.

The report contains analyses of recent academic work, as well as original DERA analyses of regulatory filings. The report is divided into two major parts: "Access to Capital – Primary Issuance" and "Market Liquidity." Highlights of the DERA report include the following:

Access to Capital – Primary Issuance

  • Primary market security issuance has not decreased since the implementation of Dodd-Frank regulations.
  • Capital from initial public offerings has "ebb[ed] and flow[ed] over time," and the post-crisis downturn is "broadly consistent with historical patterns of IPO waves."
  • The introduction of the JOBS Act brought an increase in small-company IPOs, and "IPOs by [emerging growth companies] may be becoming the prevailing form of issuance in some sectors."
  • Regulation A amendments, including an increase in the amount of capital allowed to be raised, resulted in an increase in Regulation A offerings.
  • JOBS Act crowdfunding provisions have allowed some firms to use crowdfunding to raise pre-revenue funds.
  • The private issuance of debt and equity increased significantly between 2012 and 2016, and amounts raised through exempt offerings were much higher than those raised through registered securities.

Market Liquidity

  • There is no evidence that the Volcker Rule has resulted in decreased liquidity, particularly with regard to U.S. Treasury Market liquidity.
  • Trading activity in the corporate bond trading markets has tended either to increase or to remain static.
  • The number of dealers participating in corporate bond markets has remained similar to pre-crisis numbers.
  • Dealers have reduced capital commitments, which is in line with regulatory changes, such as the Volcker Rule, that "potentially reduc[e] the liquidity position in corporate bonds."
  • For small trades, transaction costs generally have decreased; DERA suggested that this might be due in part to the emergence of alternate trading systems as platforms for trading corporate bonds.
  • For certain larger or longer maturity corporate bonds, transaction costs have increased since post-crisis regulatory changes.

DERA noted that it is difficult to quantify the effects of particular regulatory reforms, and that a variety of factors may contribute to market conditions.

Commentary / Steven Lofchie

The conclusion reached by the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis - that there is no clear link between the Volcker Rule and decreased liquidity - contrasts sharply with the recent  U.S. Treasury Report, which concluded that the rule's "implementation has hindered marketmaking functions necessary to ensure a healthy level of market liquidity." Similarly, a September 2016  study by FRB staff found that the Volcker Rule has had a "deleterious effect" on corporate bond liquidity. According to that study, dealers that are subject to Volcker requirements become less likely to provide liquidity during times of market stress.

Notably, DERA found that intraday capital commitments by dealers have declined by 68%. It is difficult to understand how a reduction in dealer inventory of this scale has no effect on liquidity. If that is really the case, then DERA should do more to identify the countervailing reasons that would explain the constancy of liquidity.

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