Government Securities Act (GSA) Regulations

This page focuses on the Government Securities Act of 1986 and its amendments, which authorizes the regulation of government securities brokers and dealers, and Treasury’s large position reporting rules.

You may also be interested in the other pages about laws and regulations as described in the boxes below.

GSA – Authorizing Statutes

The links in this section are to PDFs on our website.

15 U.S.C. 78o-5 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to propose and adopt rules with respect to transactions in government securities effected by government securities brokers and government securities dealers.

The Government Securities Act of 1986 established, for the first time, a federal system to regulate the government securities market. The GSA protects investors and ensures a fair, honest, and liquid market.

The Government Securities Act Amendments of 1993, among other changes, permanently reauthorized Treasury's rulemaking authority under the Government Securities Act and included provisions for establishing our large position reporting and recordkeeping rules.

GSA – Treasury’s GSA Regulations

The links in this section are to PDFs on our website.

Treasury’s GSA regulations for government securities brokers and dealers cover financial responsibility, protecting customer securities and funds, recordkeeping, large position reporting, and financial reporting and audits. The rules also cover custodial holdings of government securities by depository institutions.

Historical Information on GSA Regulations

Updating disclosure requirements (January 2019)

We amended the GSA regulation’s disclosure requirements, effective January 1, 2019, to conform to Securities and Exchange Commission amendments that update its disclosure requirements to reflect certain changes to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles regarding the reporting of extraordinary gains and losses, the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles, and statements of comprehensive income.

Eliminating credit rating references (August 2014)

We amended the GSA regulations, effective August 7, 2014, to replace references to credit ratings in Treasury's liquid capital rule with alternative requirements. The 2014 amendment also made several non-substantive, technical amendments to the regulations to update certain information or to delete certain requirements that are no longer applicable

Custodial holdings requirement (May 2005)

We amended the GSA regulations, effective May 23, 2005, to make savings associations regulated and examined by the Office of Thrift Supervision eligible for the conditional GSA regulatory exemption for holdings subject to fiduciary standards.

We received one comment letter in response to the September 2004 proposed this rule.

Changes to customer protection requirements (June 2004)

We amended the GSA regulations, effective June 14, 2004, to allow for the expansion of collateral that specialized government securities brokers and dealers may pledge when borrowing fully paid and excess-margin securities from customers' accounts.

The accompanying exemptive order specifies the types of securities that may be pledged.

Treasury did not receive any comment letters in response to the December 2003 proposed rule.

Expanding the definition of government securities (May 2001)

We amended the GSA regulations, effective May 24, 2001, to include qualified Canadian government obligations under the definition of “government securities” as applied to a bank.

Year 2000 readiness reports (February 1999)

We amended the GSA regulations, effective February 11, 1999, to require specialized government securities broker-dealers to file year 2000 (Y2K) readiness reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Recordkeeping rules for banks (April 1997)

We amended the GSA regulations, effective April 30, 1997, to clarify the recordkeeping requirements for bank government securities brokers and dealers.

Treasury’s buy-in rules (April 1994)

Note: This is a text file.

We amended the GSA regulations, effective April 29, 1994, to implement a buy-in requirement for all government securities that are needed to complete a customer sell order (other than a short sale) if the securities have not been received from the customer within 30 calendar days after the settlement date for all government securities except mortgage-backed securities, or 60 calendar days after the settlement date for mortgage-backed securities.

These requirements apply to all entities that are required to register or provide notice of their status as government securities brokers and dealers.

GSA – Forms

Government securities brokers and dealers may need to complete one or more of these GSA forms:

G-FIN-4: Disclosure form for person associated with a financial institution government securities broker or dealer

G-FIN-5: Uniform termination notice for person associated with a financial institution government securities broker or dealer

G-405: Report on finances and operations of government securities brokers and dealers

These forms (and their instructions) are available electronically but must be printed, signed and mailed to the appropriate regulatory agency (select forms are electronically fillable).

GSA – Reports

The links in this section are to PDFs on our website.

Request for Information (RFI) on Additional Transparency for Secondary Market Transactions of Treasury Securities

On June 27, 2022, Treasury published an RFI requesting public comments on additional post-trade transparency of data regarding secondary market transactions of Treasury securities, including potential benefits and risks of several examples of potential ways to build on existing public transparency. This RFI is one part of several ongoing workstreams of the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Treasury Market Surveillance to strengthen the resilience of the Treasury market across all segments, including cash, futures, and financing. View comments.

Note: The 60-day comment period closes on August 26, 2022.

• Treasury Press Release
• Federal Register Notice

Request for Information (RFI) on the evolution of the U.S. Treasury market structure

On January 22, 2016, Treasury published an RFI requesting public comments on the evolution of the U.S. Treasury market structure, including structural changes in the U.S. Treasury market and the implications of such changes for market functioning; trading and risk management policies and practices across the U.S. Treasury market. The RFI also requested comments on the most effective means of providing additional information about Treasury market activity to the official sector on a regular and ongoing basis. 

This RFI follows the next steps identified in the Joint Staff Report: The U.S. Treasury Market on October 15, 2014 and further the comprehensive review of the Treasury market since the 1998 Joint Study of the Regulatory System for Government Securities.

Joint Staff Report: The U.S. Treasury Market on October 15, 2014

On July 13, 2015, staff from the Treasury Department, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a joint report that analyzed the volatility in the U.S. Treasury market on October 15, 2014.

Joint Study of the Regulatory System for Government Securities

The Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System submitted their Joint Study on the Regulatory System for Government Securities to Congress in March 1998 .

1992 Joint Report on the Government Securities Market

The Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System submitted a joint report on the government securities market, as well as recommendations for legislation and changes in policies to Congress.

GSA – Exemptions

Order Granting Temporary Exemptions for CDS Central Counterparty:

This exemptive order grants temporary exemptions from certain GSA provisions and regulations in connection with a request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC.

Order Extending Temporary Exemptions for CDS Central Counterparty:

This exemptive order extends temporary exemptions from certain GSA provisions and regulations in connection with a request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC related to central CDS.

Temporary Exemptions for CDS Central Counterparty:

This exemptive order grants temporary exemptions from certain GSA provisions and regulations in connection with a request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC related to the central clearing of CDS. These exemptions specifically relate to the clearance of ICE Trust clearing members' proprietary and customer CDS transactions.

Conditional Temporary Exemption for CDS Central Counterparty:

This exemptive order grants a conditional temporary exemption from certain GSA provisions and regulations in connection with a request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC related to the central clearing of CDS. This exemption specifically relates to the clearance of CDS transactions of ICE Trust clearing members' customers.

Extension of Temporary Exemptions for CDS Central Counterparty:

This exemptive order extends temporary exemptions from certain GSA provisions and regulations in connection with a request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC related to the central clearing of CDS.

Temporary Exemptions for CDS Central Counterparty:

This exemptive order grants temporary exemptions from certain provisions of Treasury's GSA regulations in connection with a request on behalf of ICE US Trust LLC related to the central clearing of CDS.

GSA – Interpretations

The following table provides a list of frequently requested interpretations on a variety of GSA regulations.

The links go to pages on our website (not PDFs).

Topic	Date	Regulatory Cite(s)
Associated Persons/Dual Employees	August 26, 1992	401.3
Business Lags - HIC Repos	July 24, 1989	403.5(d)
Capital - Money Market Instruments	June 1, 1989	402.2(d)
Clearing Fund Deposits - Allowable Assets	August 30, 1989	402.2(d)
Confirmation Requirements	February 26, 1988	403.5(d)(ii)
Custodial Holdings - Clearing Lien	November 22, 1989	402.1(e)(8)(ii)(B)(5), 402.2(g)(1)(i)(B)(5)
Customer Securities at a Custodial Bank	May 11, 1989	450.4(a)(2)
Customer Securities at a Fed Bank	December 18,1987	450.4(a)(2)(i)(A)
Definition of Financial Institution	April 18, 1990	400.3(j)
Electronic Confirmations for Banks/Depository Institutions	October 27, 1997	403.5(d)(1)(ii)
Electronic Confirmations for Broker-Dealers	October 27, 1997	403.2, 403.3, 405.2
Fax Confirms	July 2, 1992	403.5(d)(1)(ii)
FICC (GSCC) - Aged Fails Treatment	November 22, 1989	402.2(d), 403.4, 403.5
Reaffirmation	May 31, 2006	402.2(d), 403.4, 403.5
FICC (GSCC) as Counterparty for IDBs	November 22, 1989	402.1(e)(2)(i)
FICC (GSCC) Concentration of Credit Risk Haircut	August 26, 1997	402.1(e)(8), 402.2(g)(1)
Forward Repos for Banks/Financial Institutions	April 19, 1996	404, 402.2
Forward Repos for Broker/Dealers	March 4, 1996	404, 402.2
Give-Up Receivables	April 4, 1988	402.1(e)(5), 402.2(d)(6)
Inflation-Indexed Securities Regulatory Treatment* Inflation-Indexed Fungible TINTS*	January 17, 1997 November 3, 1998	400 et seq.
Repos with Affiliates	October 9, 1990	403.3, 403.5
Timing of Allocation	June 21, 1993	403.5(d)(1), 404.4(a), 450.4
Tri-party vs. HIC Repos	May 7, 1990	403.4(e), 403.5(d)
U.S.-Affiliated Foreign Government Securities Broker-Dealers	April 17, 1997	401.9
Written Agreements	August 2, 1990	403.1, 403.4(e), 403.5(d)

*Note: Treasury changed references in the auction rules from “inflation-indexed” securities to “inflation-protected” securities (acronym “TIPS”) when the auction rules were converted to plain language (download PDF format, file size-224KB, uploaded 7/28/04, and related correction notice, download PDF format, file size-28KB, uploaded 9/2/04).