What are indirect bidders?

Drafted with AI assistance from official sources; checked against the sources listed below.

Indirect bidders are bidders that place their competitive bids through someone else: a primary dealer, another direct submitter or the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They include foreign central banks and many investment funds.

How their share is measured

Treasury publishes the amount accepted from each group of bidders: indirect bidders, direct bidders and primary dealers. 500metrics divides the indirect bidders' amount by the competitive bids accepted, so the three shares add up to the whole competitive award. The split is published from April 2008.

Why people watch it

A large indirect share means much of the auction went to buyers outside the dealer group, and dealers had to take less. A small one means dealers took more. Compare the share only with earlier auctions of the same term: bills, notes and bonds draw different mixes of buyers.

What it does not tell you

• Which buyers they were. The results name no bidder, and the indirect group mixes foreign official accounts with private funds.
• Whether the buyers keep the securities. The share is who was awarded them on the day of the auction.