The Dealer-to-Client Repo Market: A Buoy on a Swaying Sea

In 2024, the overnight funding market experienced sustained pressure and the benchmark Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA) rose to 7 basis points above the Bank of Canada’s target overnight rate. Settlement balances were declining, but hedge fund borrowing also grew by over $30 billion, increasing the client share of total repo volumes. With limited balance sheets and substantial market power, dealers raised clients’ rates, which increasingly influenced CORRA. Overall, this episode highlights the effect that dealers’ balance sheet constraints and bargaining power have on where CORRA settles but downplays the role of the settlement balances channel in the dealer-to-client market.