The Primary dealers have contributed to the growth of the market for Government securities as indicated by the bid to cover ratio for auctions in excess of two times coverage for the years 2009 to 2011. Additionally, secondary market turnover in 2011 was 35% (as a percentage of outstanding stock). This is a good indicator of liquidity in the debt market.
Moreover, by reducing the allocation of capital to stock price volatility, banks can free up some of their capital to support firms. It is worth noting that banks have made steady progress in reducing their exposure to stock price fluctuations. In fact, the total shareholdings of banks fell by 48 percent to 21 trillion yen over the past two years.