Treasury and Debt Management: Transformation of an Institution within the Process of Financialization

Abstract

This study analyzes the institutional transformation of the Undersecretariat of Treasury from its foundation onwards. Providing the liquidity of government debt instruments market and financial deepening have been objectives of the Treasury throughout the neoliberal period. However, debt management has been conceived as a depoliticized and technical piece of work, and steps towards risk management have been taken not earlier than the post-2001 crisis. In Turkey, high returns on government debt instruments contributed to the process of financialization throughout the 1990s. In addition, the restructuring of the Treasury in the aftermath of the crisis shaped the performance of the institution with reference to the financial markets by making the restructuring process rely on the basis of ensuring predictability for the financial market actors.