The US Federal Reserve has asked Wall Street dealers to develop a “stand-by” bank that would step in if one of the two leading Treasuries clearing banks encountered problems.

The Fed and the US Treasury depend on the Treasuries securities market to implement monetary policy and fund the US government. But the market, in which $545bn is traded daily, depends on two banks, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York, to clear its trades. This situation concerns regulators.