Netherlands Targets €50bn DSL Issuance in 2026, Lowers Minimum Average Maturity

12 December 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – The Dutch State Treasury Agency plans to raise around €50bn in Dutch State Loans (DSLs) in 2026, while beginning to shorten the target minimum average maturity of its debt portfolio under a newly adopted debt management framework, according to its Outlook 2026, published on Friday.

The funding plan is based on a total borrowing requirement of around €112 billion, reflecting capital market redemptions of €28.8 billion, a money market position of €42.2 billion and an estimated cash deficit of €41 billion. The DSTA said the deficit estimate had been deliberately set at a conservative level to reduce the risk of large downward revisions later in the year.

Under the new strategy, the agency aims to lower the minimum average maturity of its combined debt, swap and cash portfolio to 7.5 years, from eight years previously. To support this shift while preserving liquidity, the DSTA will increase the minimum outstanding size of new DSL benchmarks with maturities up to and including 10 years to €15 billion, from €12 billion.

In terms of issuance, the DSTA plans to launch a new five-year benchmark, DSL 15 January 2031, via MTS auction on 13 January, with an expected initial size of €4-5 billion.

A new 10-year benchmark, DSL 15 July 2036, will be introduced in Q1 through a Dutch Direct Auction with an initial size of around €6-7 billion, and will be built up to at least €15bn outstanding by the end of the year.

In addition, the agency intends to issue one new DSL with a maturity beyond 10 years via DDA, alongside around €14 billion of DSL issuance yet to be determined, giving it flexibility to reopen existing lines or adjust issuance depending on market conditions.

The DSTA stressed that it may reopen any existing DSL, including green bonds, and could raise more than the indicated €50bn on capital markets if funding needs were to increase significantly, although such a move would depend on developments in borrowing requirements.