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Washington – The findings from the annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2021 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 portfolio holdings of U.S. securities also occurs annually.  Data from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held at end-June 2022, are being processed.  Preliminary results are expected to be reported on February 28, 2023.
 

Overall Results

This survey measured the value of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2021 as approximately $16.3 trillion, with $12.1 trillion held in foreign equity, $3.7 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $0.6 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.  The previous such survey, conducted as of year-end 2020, measured U.S. holdings of approximately $14.4 trillion, with $10.6 trillion held in foreign equity, $3.4 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities, and $0.4 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.  The increase in U.S. holdings in 2021 was mainly in equity (see Table 1).
 

U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities by country at the end of 2021 were the largest for the Cayman Islands ($2.8 trillion), followed by the United Kingdom ($1.6 trillion), Canada ($1.5 trillion), and Japan ($1.3 trillion) (see Table 2).  These four countries attracted 44 percent of total U.S. portfolio investment, versus 45 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.

 

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, 2020	December 31, 2021
Long-term Securities	13,988	15,757
Equity	10,615	12,061
Long-term debt	3,373	3,696
Short-term debt securities	399	562
Total	14,387	16,319

 

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, 2021 [1]

(Billions of dollars)