DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS 

EMBARGOED UNTIL 2:30 p.m. EST Contact: Brookly McLaughlin 

December 30, 2005 (202) 622-1996 

REPORT ON U.S. HOLDINGS OF FOREIGN SECURITIES 

AT END-YEAR 2004 

The findings from an annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 

2004 are released today and posted on the U.S. Treasury web site at 

(http://www.treas.gov/tic/fpis.html). 

The survey was undertaken jointly by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 

and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The previous survey was for yearend 2003. Future surveys are scheduled to be carried out annually. The next report will present 

results from the survey for year-end 2005. 

A complementary survey measuring foreign holdings of U.S. securities is also carried out 

annually. Data from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held on June 30, 

2005, are currently being processed. Preliminary results are expected to be reported by April 30, 

2006. 

Overall Results

The survey measured U.S. holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2004 of approximately 

$3,787 billion, with $2,560 billion held in foreign equities, $993 billion in foreign long-term debt 

securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $233 billion in foreign short-term

debt securities. The previous survey, conducted as of year-end 2003, measured U.S. holdings of 

approximately $3,152 billion, with $2,079 billion held in foreign equities, $874 billion in foreign 

long-term debt securities, and $199 billion in foreign short-term debt securities (see Table 1). 

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. 
2

Table 1. U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by type of security, at end-2003 and end-20041 

(Billions of dollars, except as noted) 

Type of Security Dec. 31, 2003 Dec. 31, 2004

Long-term Securities 2,954 3,553

 equity 2,079 2,560

 long-term debt 874 993

Short-term debt securities 199 233

Total 3,152 3,787

U.S. Portfolio Investment by Country

Table 2. U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by country and type of security, for the 

countries attracting the most U.S. investment, as of December 31, 2004 

(Billions of dollars) 

Debt securities:

Total Equities Long-term Short-term

1 United Kingdom 738 456 171 110 

2 Japan 384 330 36 17 

3 Canada 345 180 152 12 

4 France 217 165 42 10 

5 Netherlands 202 136 55 11 

6 Germany 201 124 68 10 

7 Cayman Islands 196 70 114 12 

8 Bermuda 164 154 10 1 

9 Switzerland 142 138 2 2 

10 Australia 103 57 40 6 

11 Italy 78 57 17 3 

12 South Korea 74 67 7 * 

13 Spain 69 63 5 1 

14 Mexico 66 38 29 * 

15 Brazil 63 43 20 * 

16 Sweden 62 38 15 10 

17 Ireland 55 32 14 9 

18 Finland 39 34 4 1 

19 Luxembourg 38 8 27 4 

20 Hong Kong, S.A.R 37 35 2 * 

21 Taiwan 35 35 * * 

22 Israel 34 19 15 * 

23 Norway 30 18 10 2 

24 Netherlands Antilles 30 29 2 * 

25 Singapore 29 24 5 * 

Rest of world 354 211 131 13 

Total value of investment 3,787 2,560 993 233 

 * Greater than zero and less than $500 million. Note: items may not add to total due to rounding.

 

1

 The stock of foreign securities for December 31, 2004, reported in this survey does not, for a number or reasons, 

correspond to the stock of foreign securities on December 31, 2003, plus cumulative flows reported in Treasury’s 

transactions reporting system. An analysis of the relation between the stock and flow data is available in Table 5 

and the associated text of the final report on U.S. holdings of foreign securities at end-year 2004.