U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 31, 2012

CONTACT: Treasury Public Affairs (202) 622-2960

 PRELIMINARY ANNUAL REPORT ON U.S. HOLDINGS OF FOREIGN

SECURITIES

WASHINGTON – Preliminary data from an annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign 

securities at year-end 2011 were released today and posted on the Treasury web site at 

(http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Pages/fpis.aspx#usclaims). Final survey 

results, which will include additional detail as well as revisions to the data, will be reported on October 

31, 2012.

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 also is conducted annually. Data 

from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held on June 30, 2012, are currently being 

processed. Preliminary results are expected to be reported on February 28, 2013.

Overall Preliminary Results

The survey measured the value of U.S. holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2011 of approximately 

$6.8 trillion, with $4.5 trillion held in foreign equities, $2.0 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 2010, measured the value of U.S. 

holdings of $6.8 trillion, with $4.6 trillion held in foreign equities, $1.7 trillion held in foreign long-term 

debt securities, and $0.4 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities.
Table 1. U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by type of security, as of survey dates1

(Billions of dollars)

Type of Security Dec. 31, 2010 Dec. 31, 2011

Long-term Securities 6,362 6,481

Equity 4,647 4,502

Long-term debt 1,715 1,979

Short-term debt securities 402 360

Total 6,763 6,841

U.S. Portfolio Investment by Country

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

countries attracting the most U.S. portfolio investment, as of December 31, 2011

(Billions of dollars, except as noted)

Country or region Total Equity Long-Term Debt Short-Term Debt

1 United Kingdom 989 642 285 62

2 Canada 736 359 329 48

3 Cayman Islands 709 488 218 3

4 Japan 509 391 57 60

5 Australia 334 129 142 63

6 France 306 209 88 8

7 Switzerland 292 278 5 9

8 Germany 266 174 82 10

9 Netherlands 242 119 110 13

10 Brazil 196 155 41 *

11 Bermuda 161 135 25 *

12 Ireland 149 114 35 *

13 Korea, South 146 117 28 2

14 Hong Kong 116 112 3 *

15 Sweden 115 54 34 28

16 Mexico 108 59 45 4

17 Luxembourg 93 31 61 1

18 China, Mainland 77 75 2 *

19 Spain 76 53 22 *

20 Taiwan 72 72 * 0

21 South Africa 71 59 12 *

22 Netherlands Antilles 70 66 4 0

23 Norway 63 21 29 12

24 Italy 62 40 21 1

25 Singapore 60 48 10 2

26 India 59 55 3 1

27 Israel 58 37 19 2

Rest of world 706 409 267 31

Total 6,841 4,502 1,979 360

* Greater than zero, but less than $500 million

 1

 The stock of foreign securities for December 31, 2011, reported in this survey may not, for a number of reasons, 

correspond to the stock of foreign securities on December 31, 2010, plus cumulative flows reported in Treasury’s 

transactions reporting system. The final report on U.S. holdings of foreign securities as of end-year 2011 will contain an 

analysis of the relationship between the stock and flow data.