The cost of "debt" also rises / aka Who owns America?
As of 19 May 2022, US gross national debt is $30.4 trillion, an increase of $7.0 trillion -- 23% -- since March 2020.
Here's the thing: Every effin' Treasury security was bought and is being held by all of the following:
1. Institutional investor
2. Financial institution (e.g., bank)
3. Government entity (domestic or foreign)
4. Individual (domestic or foreign)
These "investors" are, in effect, America's creditors.
Who are they?
FOREIGN CREDITORS
Foreign creditors -- mainly governments -- "own" $7.61 trillion
The 12 largest foreign owners of American debt, including dollar amount and percent change amount US debt owned YoY:
JAPAN: $1.23 trillion (+4.1% Year-over-Year)
CHINA: $1.04 trillion (+3.4% YoY)
UK: $635 billion (+43% YoY)
Ireland: $316 billion (+2% YoY)
Luxembourg: $301 billion (+6% YoY)
Cayman Islands: $293 billion (+36% YoY)
Switzerland: $274 billion (+8% YoY)
Belgium (home of Euroclear): $265 billion (+12% YoY)
France: $247 billion (+117% YoY)
Taiwan: $251 billion (+3% YoY)
Brazil: $237 billion (-7% YoY)
Canada: $222 billion (+109% YoY)
As bolded in the list above, there were big moves by France (+117%) and Canada (+109%) over the last 12 months, while the UK -- aka the "London Laundromat" -- remained typically high @ +43%.
TOTAL SHARE OF FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF US NATIONAL DEBT: 26.6%
DOMESTIC CREDITORS
1. US Federal Government: $6.52 trillion
These represent funds owned by US government pension funds for military personnel and federal civilian employees, the US Social Security Trust Fund, and other federal government funds that invest their balances exclusively in Treasury securities. In essence, the US government owes these funds to current and future beneficiaries of those funds – and not “to itself.”
US federal governement owns approximately 19% of all US national debt.
2. US Federal Reserve Bank: $5.76 trillion
The Federal Reserve Bank's holdings of US Treasury securities started declining in 2021, and by the end of March 2022 had decreased to 19.8% of all US national debt. Treasury securities on the FRB's books do not include the large amount of MBS and other securities the FRB holds.
3. US Banking Intitutions: $1.7 trillion
US banking institutions own 5.6% of all US national debt.
4. Other US institutional and individual investors: $8.8 trillion
These US national debt "owners" include bond mutual funds, money market funds, US pension funds, US insurance companies, state and local governments, other US organizational entities, and (isgnificantly) individual investors LIKE MYSELF.
Taken together, these investors own roughly 29% of all US national debt.
TOTAL SHARE OF DOMESTIC OWNERSHIP OF US NATIONAL DEBT: 73.4%
Source of all of the above: United States Department of Treasury / Treasury International Capital (TIC) database
