Markets Wired

WASHINGTON – The findings from the annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2020 were released today and posted on the Treasury web site at https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system/tic-forms-instructions/us-claims-on-foreigners-from-holdings-of-foreign-securities

The survey was undertaken jointly by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

A complementary survey measuring foreign holdings of U.S. securities is also conducted annually.  Data from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held at end-June 2021, are currently being processed.  Preliminary results are expected to be reported on February 28, 2022.

Overall Results

This survey measured the value of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2020 as approximately $14.4 trillion, with $10.6 trillion held in foreign equity, $3.4 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $0.4 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.  The previous such survey, conducted as of year-end 2019, measured U.S. holdings of approximately $13.1 trillion, with $9.5 trillion held in foreign equity, $3.1 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities, and $0.5 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.  The increase in 2020 was mainly in equity (see Table 1).

U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities by country at the end of 2020 were the largest for the Cayman Islands ($2.6 trillion), followed by the United Kingdom ($1.4 trillion), Japan ($1.3 trillion), and Canada ($1.2 trillion) (see Table 2).  These four countries attracted 45 percent of total U.S. portfolio investment, versus 44 percent the previous year.

The surveys are part of an internationally coordinated effort under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to improve the measurement of portfolio asset holdings.

The full annual report can be found here.

Table 1.  U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by type of security, as of survey dates [1]

(Billions of dollars)

Type of Security	December 31, 2019	December 31, 2020
Long-term Securities	12,617	13,988
Equity	9,478	10,615
Long-term debt	3,139	3,373
Short-term debt securities	470	399
Total	13,087	14,387

 

U.S. Portfolio Investment by Country

Table 2.  Market value of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities, by country and type of security, for countries attracting the most U.S. investment, as of December 31, 2020 [1]

(Billions of dollars)

Country or category	Total	Equity	Debt
			Total	Long-term	Short-term
Cayman Islands	2,565	2,027	539	531	7
United Kingdom	1,395	919	476	435	40
Japan	1,296	1,013	283	182	102
Canada	1,168	683	484	412	72
France	698	479	220	187	32
Ireland	698	608	90	80	10
Switzerland	632	590	42	41	1
Netherlands	628	423	205	196	9
Germany	535	422	113	93	20
Australia	378	227	151	126	25
Taiwan	304	304	*	*	0
Korea, South	300	277	23	22	1
China, Mainland [2]	287	251	35	34	2
Bermuda	283	240	44	44	*
India	234	223	11	11	*
Luxembourg	198	131	67	63	5
Sweden	196	155	42	28	14
Brazil	168	144	24	23	*
Hong Kong	166	158	8	7	1
Spain	163	113	49	47	2
Rest of world	2,094	1,228	866	811	56
Total	14,387	10,615	3,772	3,373	399

*     Greater than zero but less than $500 million.

Items may not sum to totals due to rounding.

[1] The stock of foreign securities for December 31, 2020, reported in this survey may not, for a number of reasons, correspond to the stock of foreign securities on December 31, 2019, plus cumulative flows reported in Treasury’s transactions reporting system.  An analysis of the relationship between the stock and flow data is available in Exhibit 4 and the associated text of “U.S. Portfolio Holdings of Foreign Securities as of End-December 2020.”

[2] China, Hong Kong, and Macau are all reported separately.