CHAPTER 8
Government Securities and Markets: Treasury, Agencies, Municipals, and Sovereign Debt Securities
Introduction
The U.S. Treasury security market began over 230 years ago when the U.S. Treasury sold government securities to finance the new country's debt. The U.S. debt in 1790 consisted of $54 million in national debt and $25 million in assumed state debt, with most of the debt incurred as a result of the Revolutionary War. Today, the U.S. Treasury is the largest debt issuer in the world. Its size, as well as its wide distribution of ownership and low default feature, makes the rates on Treasury securities the benchmark for all other securities.
In addition to U.S. Treasury securities, there are also debt instruments issued by U.S. federal ...
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