Dutch State Treasury Agency

The Dutch State Treasury Agency (DSTA) is a directorate of the Dutch Ministry of Finance and is based in The Hague. The DSTA finances the Dutch State by managing the national debt and public money in the treasury, and by setting up the State's payment system. The DSTA has been housed in the Ministry of Finance building on Korte Voorhout in The Hague since January 2009.
The level of government debt is published on the DSTA's website, among other statistics.
==Responsibilities==
The DSTA is responsible for the Dutch State’s funding policy and acts on behalf of the State in performing transactions in the financial markets.
The legal basis for this executive role is regulated in section 11[www.rijksfinancien.nl] Wo and section 12[www.rijksfinancien.nl] of the 2016 Government Accounts Act:
•	Debt financing at the lowest possible cost under acceptable risk to the budget.
•	Optimal cash management for the State and affiliated institutions.
==Execution==
Financing sovereign debt is performed in the capital market (long-term debt) and the money market (short-term debt). The framework in which this is done is set out in the funding policy of the DSTA. The core values of the DSTA’s funding policy are consistency, transparency and liquidity. In addition, the DSTA must be flexible when responding to changes in market conditions or fluctuations in the funding need.
==Capital Market==
Government bonds, or Dutch State Loans (DSLs), are loans issued by the government to meet the State's financing needs. The holder of a government bond has a claim on the State and the State has the obligation to pay interest and redemption to the holder of such a bond.
Government bonds have a fixed term and a fixed interest rate. Annually, the holder of a government bond receives the interest coupon. At the maturity date of the government bond, the last interest coupon and the nominal amount (the redemption) are paid.
The Dutch State has the highest possible credit rating (AAA) and guarantees timely and full payment of interest and redemption.
==Money market==
The government holds a treasury balance to manage its expenditures and revenues. Because the treasury balance (and thus the size of the debt) fluctuates constantly, the State has to take out money market loans in addition to long-term loans or- in times of temporary cash surpluses - deploy money.
For this purpose, the DSTA has several instruments such as, among others, issuing treasury paper, known as Dutch Treasury Certificates (DTCs), attracting or depositing money via (covered) deposits or issuing Commercial Paper (CP).
•The treasury bills of the Dutch State are called Dutch Treasury Certificates (DTCs). Treasury bills are, like a government loan, a debt from the State to the holder. Unlike government bonds that have a maturity of several years, treasury bills are short-term securities. Repayment of the principal occurs on average 3 or 6 months after issuance, but intermediate maturities are also possible. DTCs are sold with fixed final date and final amount (nominal value), in a Dutch Auction. The interest is the difference between final amount and purchase price and is therefore not settled separately.
•Global Commercial Paper (GCP) is a standardised debt security with flexible start and end dates with short maturities ranging up to 12 months. GCP serves as a bridge between shorter-term flexible deposits and longer-term less flexible DTCs. The use of this third money market instrument makes treasury management more flexible, allowing better anticipation of short-term financing needs.
==History==
In 1840, King William I abdicated in favour of his son King William II. King William II decided in 1841 that the national debt would henceforth be the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.
This finance minister, Jan Jacob Rochussen, chose to set up a special department to manage the national debt: the Dutch State Treasury Agency. The mandate of the first Agent (director) was: "the handling of such matters as may seem advisable in the interest of the country and for the convenience of the public".
At first, bondholders were mainly wealthy citizens of the Netherlands, but gradually bondholders became predominantly composed of international investors. Paper bonds also ceased to be used. In 1987, the last classic paper debt certificate was issued by the DSTA.
Category:Companies established in 1841
Category:Companies of the Netherlands
Category:Finance in the Netherlands