JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is bracing for a disruption within the close to $30 trillion U.S. Treasury market — one he says might drive the Federal Reserve to step in, simply because it did throughout the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There might be a kerfuffle within the Treasury markets due to all the foundations and rules,” Dimon stated in a Friday earnings name, warning that the Fed received’t act till “they begin to panic a bit of bit.”
Dimon’s feedback come as bond yields spike and market volatility rises. The rising yields have recommended traders are pulling again from well-liked trades that exploit gaps between Treasury costs and futures, including stress to a market already rattled by commerce tensions underneath the escalating U.S.-China commerce conflict.
Dimon stated present rules are retaining banks from stepping in as consumers when liquidity dries up. In 2020, an identical state of affairs compelled the Fed to launch a multi-trillion-dollar bond-buying program to maintain the market functioning.
He’s pushing for reforms that will let banks act extra freely as intermediaries. One concept underneath dialogue is exempting Treasuries from leverage ratio calculations, which might permit establishments to purchase extra authorities debt with out hitting capital buffers.
“In the event that they don’t [change the rules], the Fed should intermediate, which I believe is only a unhealthy coverage concept,” Dimon stated.
The Treasury market performs a central position in world finance, setting the tone for every little thing from mortgage charges to company bond yields. Dimon warned that if the system locks up once more, the implications might ripple throughout the financial system.
A Treasury market disruption that results in Fed intervention might drive some traders towards bitcoin (BTC), which is usually seen as a hedge towards financial instability. That seems to have been the case in 2020, when bitcoin’s worth surged following the Fed’s aggressive stimulus response. Others components, together with the cryptocurrency’s 2020 halving affect, might have additionally factored into bitcoin’s worth soar.