How to Read Treasury TIC Data — Foreign Holders of U.S. Treasuries, Flows and Custodial Bias

As of 24 October 2026 (KST); latest release: Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for August 2026, released by the U.S. Treasury at 4 p.m. EDT on October 16, 2026. Next release: November 18, 2026, at 4 p.m. Washington time, for September 2026. Primary sources: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0662 and https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/slt_table5.html^[1][2][7]

Comparison basis: holdings are end-of-month levels from the Major Foreign Holders table; flows are monthly, not seasonally adjusted, and the data table shows 12-month sums rather than the August 2025 monthly value. The table values are published to one decimal; changes are this page's calculations from them, and sums of rounded values can differ by 0.1 from published totals. "The January, April, July, and October releases reflect revised data for the past year." so earlier months in the current table may differ from first-published figures. All sources are U.S. Treasury publications and count as one issuer record.^[2][4][7]

In three lines 1. TIC data track cross-border portfolio flows and holdings; the Major Foreign Holders table estimates who holds U.S. Treasury securities, mainly from custodial data. 2. Foreign holdings of Treasuries were $9,331.7 billion at end-August 2026, with Japan ($1,068.3 billion) and the United Kingdom ($1,009.5 billion) largest; the net TIC inflow for August was $199.8 billion. 3. Country figures reflect where securities are held in custody, not always who owns them; September data are due November 18, 2026.^[2][4]

Cross-border only. The system "it is designed to capture only financial transactions that involve both a U.S. resident and a foreign resident." "Because many U.S. securities, including U.S. Treasury securities, trade in foreign financial markets, the TIC data will not capture all foreign transactions in U.S. securities."^[6]

Portfolio, not direct investment. "the TIC system measures only cross-border portfolio flows and positions, thus all cross-border direct investment activity is excluded from these data." The release table notes that TIC data "do not include data on direct investment flows, which are collected and published by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis."^[2][6]

How holdings are estimated. "The data in this table are collected primarily from U.S.-based custodians and broker-dealers." The table is in "Billions of dollars" and shows "Holdings at end of time period".^[4]

The headline flow. "The sum total in August of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows was a net TIC inflow of $199.8 billion. Of this, net foreign private inflows were $178.5 billion, and net foreign official inflows were $21.3 billion."^[1]

Custody location vs owner. "For example, if a U.S. Treasury security purchased by a foreign resident is held in a custodial account in a third country, the true ownership of the security will not be reflected in the data." Treasury's FAQ gives an example, "For example, a German investor may buy a U.S. security and place it in the custody of a Swiss bank.", and adds: "This 'custodial bias' contributes to the large recorded foreign holdings of U.S. securities in major financial centers, such as Belgium, the Caribbean banking centers, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom."^[2][6]

Financial centers in the table. The United Kingdom ($1,009.5 billion), Belgium ($490.5 billion), the Cayman Islands ($463.0 billion) and Luxembourg ($448.2 billion) together account for $2,411.2 billion, about 25.8% of the total (this page's calculation); under custodial bias, these amounts need not belong to residents of those places.^[4]

Official vs private. Foreign official holdings were $3,755.6 billion at end-August, about 40.2% of the total (this page's calculation), of which $312.2 billion Treasury bills and $3,443.4 billion bonds and notes.^[4]

TIC vs Federal Reserve custody (H.4.1). Treasury's FAQ 10a lists differences including coverage, timing, valuation and the effects of transactions that are not cross-border. Coverage: "Treasury securities held by private custodians on behalf of foreign official institutions are included in the TIC but not in the FRBNY figures." Timing: "The TIC system records holdings and transactions as of the end of the last business day of each calendar month whereas FRBNY custody holdings are reported in the H.4.1. as of the week ending Wednesday." Valuation: "The custody holdings at FRBNY are reported at face value. TIC MFH data are reported at estimated value." Non-cross-border transactions: "If a foreign official institution acquires a Treasury security from a private foreign entity on a foreign securities exchange and then has the security held in custody at FRBNY, reported custody holdings will increase." but no TIC official purchase is recorded, because the transaction is foreign-to-foreign.^[6]

Long-term purchases vs bills. "Foreign residents increased their holdings of long-term U.S. securities in August; their net purchases were $300.7 billion. Net purchases by private foreign investors were $257.8 billion, and net purchases by foreign official institutions were $42.9 billion." In the same month, "Foreign residents decreased their holdings of U.S. Treasury bills by $47.8 billion."^[1][2]

$300.7 billion vs $279.2 billion. The $300.7 billion is foreign net purchases of U.S. long-term securities (line 3). The $279.2 billion (line 19, and line 21 after adjustments) also nets out U.S. residents' net purchases of foreign securities, $21.6 billion (line 16); other adjustments (line 20) were 0.0 in August. 300.7 less 21.6 gives 279.1, 0.1 below the published 279.2 (this page's observation; the table values are rounded).^[1][2]

Holdings change vs Treasury transactions. The Major Foreign Holders total rose $83.3 billion in August (this page's calculation). The data table shows net foreign purchases of Treasury bonds and notes of $109.0 billion (lines 5 and 10, private 90.9 plus official 18.1) and a $47.8 billion fall in Treasury bill holdings, together $61.2 billion (this page's calculation). Treasury's FAQ explains that the holdings table "additionally includes short-term Treasury Bills and Certificates (Treasury securities with original maturity of less than one year), which are reported on TIC Form BL-2" and that MFH data are reported at estimated value; the release does not reconcile the remaining gap.^[2][4][6]

Official inflows vs official Treasury holdings. Net foreign official inflows were $21.3 billion across all instruments in August, while official Treasury holdings in the Major Foreign Holders table fell $17.5 billion; the official lines for Treasuries alone were +18.1 (bonds and notes) and -42.2 (bills) (published table values).^[1][2][4]

Transaction bias in the official split. The division between official and other foreign buyers "is subject to a 'transaction bias' described in Frequently Asked Questions 7 and 10.a.4 on the TIC website."^[2]