DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS 

EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:00 p.m., October 31, 2008 

Contact: Brookly McLaughlin, (202) 622-2920 

REPORT ON U.S. PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF FOREIGN SECURITIES 

AT END-YEAR 2007 

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

2007 are released today and posted on the U.S. Treasury web site (www.treas.gov/tic/fpis.html). 

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

out annually. Preliminary results from the most recent such survey, covering securities held as 

of June 30, 2008, are expected to be reported by February 27, 2009. 

These surveys are undertaken jointly by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New 

York, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

Overall Results

The survey measured the value of U.S. holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2007 of 

approximately $7,212 billion, with $5,248 billion held in foreign equities, $1,607 billion in 

foreign long-term debt securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $357 

billion in foreign short-term debt securities. The previous survey measured U.S. holdings at 

year-end 2006 of approximately $5,991 billion, with $4,329 billion held in foreign equities, 

$1,294 billion in foreign long-term debt securities, and $368 billion in foreign short-term debt 

securities (see Table 1). 

U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities by country at the end of 2007 were by far the largest 

for the United Kingdom ($1,142 billion), followed by Japan ($594 billion) and Canada 

($586 billion) (see Table 2). 

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. Value of U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by type of security, 

 at end-2006 and end-20071 (Billions of dollars) 

Type of Security Dec. 31, 2006 Dec. 31, 2007

Long-term Securities 5,623 6,855

 Equity 4,329 5,248

 long-term debt 1,294 1,607

Short-term debt securities 368 357

Total 5,991 7,212

U.S. Portfolio Investment by Country

Table 2. Value of 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, 2007 

(Billions of dollars) 

Debt Securities:

 Total Equity Long-term Short-term 

United Kingdom 1,142 715 286 141 

Japan 594 529 60 4 

Canada 586 379 185 22 

Cayman Islands 544 232 271 41 

France 448 348 83 17 

Germany 426 329 89 8 

Switzerland 288 281 4 3 

Bermuda 273 256 17 * 

Netherlands 235 154 76 5 

Australia 223 138 73 11 

Brazil 189 173 16 * 

Spain 146 107 38 2 

Korea, South 140 129 10 * 

Ireland 132 49 50 33 

Hong Kong 121 120 2 * 

Italy 120 97 22 1 

Sweden 112 57 29 26 

Mexico 110 85 24 * 

China 97 96 1 * 

Luxembourg 95 40 44 11 

Finland 94 90 4 * 

Netherlands Antilles 89 88 1 * 

India 85 82 3 * 

Taiwan 81 81 * 0 

Russia 81 74 7 * 

Rest of world 761 519 211 30 

Total 7,212 5,248 1,607 357 

*Greater than zero, but less than $500,000,000. 

 

1

 The stock of foreign securities for December 31, 2007, reported in this survey does not, for a number of reasons, 

correspond to the stock of foreign securities on December 31, 2006, 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 4 

and the associated text of the final report on U.S. holdings of foreign securities at end-year 2007.