Washington, D.C., February 26, 2025 – Today, SIFMA published its annual Fixed Income Market Structure Compendium, offering a comprehensive examination of themes and market metrics shaping the U.S. fixed income markets throughout 2024. It also features a conversation with Coalition Greenwich on trends such as trading volumes, electronic trading, and market liquidity.

“In 2024, U.S. fixed income markets were shaped by high levels of Treasury issuance, record levels of federal debt, and evolving Treasury clearing dynamics,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA’s president and CEO. “SIFMA’s Fixed Income Market Structure Compendium offers a comprehensive analysis of these issues, supported by market metrics on issuance and trading volumes. It offers valuable insights that reinforce the importance of ensuring that America’s capital markets are effective and resilient.”

Key Takeaways:

• Treasury Clearing: The first deadline for the Treasury and repo clearing mandate is September 2025 after the SEC extended the implementation timeline. These markets consist of $27.8 trillion in Treasury securities outstanding and $4.4 trillion in repo average daily amount outstanding. Unlike with the transition to T+1 settlement, market participants are not expecting a big bang with Treasury clearing, rather a phase in of activity. Treasury clearing volumes could rise by over $4 trillion a day, bringing the aggregate volume to $11.5 trillion daily, a 53.3% increase to today’s volume of $7.5 trillion.
• Treasury Issuance: In 2024, the U.S. government issued $2.4 trillion in privately held net marketable securities per annum, 144.9% greater than the historical average. This represented another elevated issuance level in a non-recession, non-war, and non-emergency year.
• Issuance Skewed to Shorter Durations: The continuation of elevated levels of fiscal spending mean the Treasury Department must keep issuing debt – and issue they have – in 2024, total issuance was $29.3 trillion, driven by bills, +404%, while notes grew 116% and bonds grew 161%.
• Federal Debt: High levels of fiscal spending flowed through to the balance sheet – as of the end of 2024, the level of federal debt had grown to $28.3 trillion, a 7.6% year over year increase and 68.1% increase since the pre COVID average. Additionally, the federal deficit stands at $1.8 trillion, the second-highest recorded, or 6.3% as a percent of GDP, greater than the Great Depression and stock market crash, Black Monday, and the dotcom bubble burst.
• Treasury Holders Landscape: At the same time as the balance sheet grew, the composition of Treasury holders has shifted. At the end of 2024, the Fed held 16.5%, foreign holders held $33.0%, and other holders represented 50.1%. Other holders posted the largest increases both over the last 10 years (113.4%) and to the pre COVID average (69.1%).
• Key Metrics: The Compendium also highlights 2024 key metrics for fixed income markets issuance, trading average daily volume, and outstanding across the total market, U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, federal agency securities, municipal bonds, and asset-backed securities. Treasuries dominated the fixed income landscape in 2024, with long-term issuance up 33% year-over-year, total outstanding exceeding $28 trillion, and average daily volume (ADV) surpassing $900 billion.

The full Compendium can be found here.

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SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate for legislation, regulation and business policy, affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.