From Deutsche Bank:
The ownership structure of US Treasuries is fascinating: 50% is held by foreigners and 20% is held by the Fed. Domestic accounts hold only 30% of Treasuries, down from 75% in the early 1990s, see chart below.
Also, attached please find our 105 page update on Who is buying Treasuries, Mortgages, Credit, and Munis. Let us know if you want to set up a conference call to discuss flows with us and our trading desk.
Source: Deutsche Bank, Who is buying Treasuries, Mortgages, Credit, and Munis?
Barry, is not the logical conclusion that foreigners have more faith in the US than those citizens that wear the flag lapel pins? Not only are thy buying our debt they are asking for virtually no return. Of course, with the dollar strengthening, they are doing quite well on the currency conversion.
All those Russian oligarchs who bought treasuries the past 5 years made huge profits. The Chinese are looking to get some “devaluation profits” within the next year or two. For foreigners the treasuries gamble is a different game.
Take a look at the time period just prior to the financial crisis. The Fed reduced holdings of treasuries. Meanwhile, domestic financial institutions and foreigners ramped up buying. Then at the onset of QE, those patterns reversed. It appears that perhaps the fed saw the crisis coming, and began altering the system to cushion the blow.
Not certain, but it doesn’t look like they are including the “special” Treasuries issued for the Social Security Administration. If those were included, the $2.5 trillion held by the SSA would alter the percentages a fair amount.
Just a thought, considering how low the coupon rate has been, at if not below rates of inflation, this would be the perfect time to roll over higher rate notes into a series of 50 years bonds. Canada has just started doing that, locking in extremely favorable yields.
Then again, we aren’t as governmentally bright as the Canadians… never mind.
Also, the Social Security Trust Fund at the end of 2011 was owed by the US Treasury (in the form of treasury bonds) $2.7 trillion per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund
SS Trust Fund is up to about $2800B at end of 2014. GAO 15-157 is the audit for FY 2014. While the GOP is going off on SS Disability as it declined to $70B balance.
Other trust funds are filled by appropriation of “funny money” why SS gets no “funny money” from congress but only payroll tax receipts is a question to ponder.
Promises to 100 million are way less than promises to a few million fat cats.
“In Fund We Trust”