system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What's the point of a repo?

If I understand correctly, A repo is when X gives some assets to Y, and Y gives like 10 dollars to X. However X is comitted to buy back that asset, but for a higher price. Hence Y is essentially lending money to X, receiving interest and using the asset as a collateral. I guess I understand that, but I read that most repos are done in a short timeframe. What's the point then? Why don't the buyers like X just borrow money through the traditional channels?
gpt
Typically the repo market that you see discussed in the news is for banks. Banks have collateral requirements and must have certain levels of assets on the books at the end of every day to comply with federal regulations. Traditional lending would be too slow; often a bank needs to balance its books and gather additional collateral only an hour or two before COB. The repo market provides liquidity so Bank A can hold Bank B's extra assets overnight and not violate the law. Bank B makes a little money, but not a ton. The real value is that when Bank B has too many liabilities, it can tap the repo market to balance its own books. 

There are other repo market examples, but this is one of the most common.