Economic Policy Review
The Global Dash for Cash: Why Sovereign Bond Market Functioning Varied across Jurisdictions in March 2020
Volume 29, Number 3
December 2023

JEL classification: G01, G12, E44, H63

Authors: Jordan Barone, Alain Chaboud, Adam Copeland, Cullen Kavoussi, Frank M. Keane, and Seth Searls

In March 2020, the economic disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a global dash for cash by investors. This selling pressure occurred across advanced-economy sovereign bond markets and caused a deterioration in market functioning, leading to central bank interventions. The authors show that these market disruptions occurred disproportionately in the U.S. Treasury market and were due to investors’ selling pressures being far more pronounced and broad-based. Furthermore, the authors assess differences in key drivers of the market disruptions across sovereign bond markets, based on an analysis of the data as well as outreach to a range of market participants.

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Author Disclosure Statement(s)
Jordan Barone
Jordan Barone declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.

Alain Chaboud
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper.

Adam Copeland
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.

Cullen Kavoussi
Cullen Kavoussi declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.

Frank Keane
Frank Keane declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.

Seth Searls
I, Seth Searls, declare that I have no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in the paper: “The Global Dash for Cash: Why Sovereign Bond Market Functioning Varied Across Jurisdictions in March 2020.”

Suggested Citation:
Barone, Jordan, Alain Chaboud, Adam Copeland, Cullen Kavoussi, Frank Keane, and Seth Searls. 2023. “The Global Dash for Cash: Why Sovereign Bond Market Functioning Varied Across Jurisdictions in March 2020.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review 29, no. 3, December. https://doi.org/10.59576/epr.29.3.1-29

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