A type of repo that trades over alternative trading systems (ATS) or alternative venues. Repo transactions are made either over a fully-automatic or semi-automatic electronic trading platform, rather than the ordinary manner. With ATS repos, dealers can manage their inventories of specific securities (SC– specific collateral) and for liquidity management against general collateral (GC). ATS repo tend to involve high-volume and low-margin transactions in which price is less certain and the collateral is more complex.
Because trading is automated and transparent over ATS, ATS repos tend to be very short-term, and unstructured. Additionally such repos are mainly collateralized with government bonds. and are transacted almost entirely between dealers (who are mandatorily members of the ATS and linked central counterparties).
