Explain why the bid-ask spread on most municipal bonds would be greater than the spread on U.S. Treasury bonds.
What will be an ideal response?
Spreads are the difference between the dealer's bid and asked prices. Since dealers are ready to buy or sell the bond, they must carry an inventory, which means they accept risk just like any other bondholder would. One of these risks is liquidity risk, which is the risk of not being able to sell the bond when you would like. Since the market for U.S. Treasury bonds is far more liquid than would be the market for any single municipal bond, the dealer of the municipal bond would face greater liquidity risk and require a larger spread.
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