When Selling Becomes Viral: Disruptions in Debt Markets in the COVID-19 Crisis and the Fed's Response

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Haddad, Valentin; Moreira, Alan; Muir, Tyler
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Rochester
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0893-9454
• DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhaa145
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 5309
• 关键词: ASSET PRICE DYNAMICS; liquidity; RISK; spreads

摘要

We document extreme disruption in debt markets during the COVID-19 crisis: a severe price crash accompanied by significant dislocations at the safer end of the credit spectrum. Investment-grade corporate bonds traded at a discount to credit default swaps; exchange-traded funds traded at a discount to net asset value, more so for safer bonds. The Federal Reserve's announcement of corporate bond purchases caused these dislocations to disappear and prices to recover. These facts inform potential theories of the disruption. The best explanation is an acute liquidity need for specific bond investors, such as mutual funds, leading them to liquidate large positions.