A trading desk is a physical location where transactions for buying and selling securities occur. Depending on the type of financial institution, the trading desk may be filled by traders trading for their own proprietary account, brokers who act as agents matching buyers and sellers, or some mixture of both.

Trading desks are found in most financial firms that are involved in facilitating trade executions in markets such as equities, fixed income securities, futures, commodities, and currencies. These facilities are crucial to providing market liquidity.

A trading desk may also be known as a dealing desk.