Netherlands: bonds, indices, credit ratings

In order to satisfy its funding needs, the Dutch State issues bonds, known in the market as Dutch State Loans (DSLs). As the State has the highest possible creditworthiness (AAA), the State guarantees full and timely payments of interest and redemptions.

Dutch State Loans have a fixed maturity. DSLs are either auctioned via a tap auction or a Dutch Direct Auction (DDA).

In the DDA bids are not submitted as an absolute price but as a spread against a reference bond, most often a German Bund with a comparable maturity to the bond on auction. This method has been chosen because there is a time lag between placing the orders and the actual allocation. During this period the market might move resulting in an absolute price level not correctly reflecting the market price. Because spreads are less volatile than absolute price levels the market price of the bond is better reflected as a spread over a reference bond.

A part of the debt of the Dutch State is financed in the money market. The DSTA counts operations with maturities from 1 day to 1 year to the money market. The issuance of T-bills is an important segment of the European money market. Many states issue T-bills with maturities ranging from 3 to 12 months.

As of May 2013 total amount outstanding is € 313 billion (90% of government debt).