How did individuals purchase Treasury marketable securities before TreasuryDirect?
Since marketable securities became available through the TreasuryDirect online system, investors can purchase, hold, and manage all their Treasury securities (including savings bonds) in one account, which has a direct relationship with the Treasury Department. Before TreasuryDirect, investors had only two options for purchasing and holding marketable securities. Marketable securities were (and still are) available through: • Legacy Treasury Direct, a direct holding system where the investor has a direct relationship with the United States Treasury. Available since 1986, Legacy Treasury Direct predated the Internet and is largely paper dependent, although it does permit certain online transactions, such as purchases and reinvestments, through Electronic Services for Treasury Bills, Notes, and Bonds. (Savings bonds are not available in Legacy Treasury Direct.) In January 2007, we stopped offering 30-year bonds and 20-year TIPS in Legacy Treasury Direct. • Commercial book-entry, an indir
