Over the last decade, the market structure  of bond, FX, equity and associated derivatives markets has undergone major changes. In parallel to the rise of electronic trading, the activity of non-bank Dealers has grown significantly. Principal trading firms (PTFs) have developed into major non-bank liquidity providers in many key market segments. They act as market makers in a steadily expanding group of key instruments in the US and Europe. These changes – together with an increasing number of stress episodes (e.g. “flash crash” and the stress in March 2020) raise a number of important analytical and policy questions:

• Business model of PTFs
• Resilience of market liquidity in the new ecosystem
• Role of banks in trading in bonds, derivatives etc: Do PTFs “eat banks’ lunch”?
• Market infrastructure and PTFs: New risks or new opportunities?
• Central bank policy: Market maker of last resort and market functioning purchases to safeguard intermediation?