Conference Agenda

Session Overview
Session
Track M3-1: Risk and Information in Institutional Investing
Time:
Monday, 20/May/2024:
8:30am - 9:15am

Session Chair: Christian Opp, University of Rochester
Discussant: James Angel, Georgetown University
Location: Room 1216


Presentations

HFTs and Dealer Banks: Liquidity and Price Discovery in FX Trading

Wenqian Huang1, Shihao Yu3, Angelo Ranaldo2, Peter O'neill4

1BIS; 2University of St. Gallen and Swiss Finance Institute,; 3Columbia University; 4UNSW

By investigating dealer banks and high-frequency traders (HFTs) in foreign exchange markets, this study sheds light on the distinct yet complementary roles of ``traditional’’ and ``new’’ market makers in over-the-counter markets. Using message-level data, our findings reveal that these two types coexist by carrying out complementary roles. HFTs excel in processing public information, while dealers are skilled in managing private information. Specifically, HFTs provide resilient liquidity during market-wide volatility spikes, whereas dealer liquidity is robust in informational events such as scheduled macroeconomic announcements or policy regime changes. HFTs contribute to the majority of the information share through frequent quote updates, which incorporate public information. In contrast, dealers contribute to price discovery through trades that impound private information.


Huang-HFTs and Dealer Banks-1052.pdf