The Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system
is the U.S. government's source of data on capital flows into
and out of the United States, excluding direct investment,
and the resulting levels of cross-border claims and liabilities.
The data is used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the
computation of the U.S. Balance of Payments accounts and the U.S.
International Investment Position. Information is collected
from commercial banks and other depository institutions, bank
holding companies, securities brokers and dealers, custodians of
securities, and nonbanking enterprises in the United States,
including the U.S. branches,
agencies and subsidiaries of foreign-based banks and business
enterprises. The TIC capital movement reports are filed directly
with Federal Reserve Banks, who act as fiscal agents for the
Treasury in this function. Beginning in late 1998, the Federal
Reserve Board of Governors also performs services on behalf
of the Treasury in support of this data collection system.
(Data on direct investment are collected separately by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce.)
The TIC website, with its current data and extensive historical
time series, is an extension of the Capital Movements section
of the quarterly
Treasury Bulletin, in which recent and limited historical
data are published on: U.S. banking liabilities to, and claims
on, foreigners; on U.S. nonbanking claims and liabilities
vis-à-vis foreigners; on holdings and transactions
in U.S. derivatives contracts with foreigners; and on U.S.
transactions with foreigners in long-term securities.
Note on country data -- the geographical detail
may not always indicate the ultimate foreign
ownership of U.S. assets, or the ultimate
obligors of U.S. claims.
In general, information on U.S.
transactions with foreigners in long-term
securities is reported opposite the country
in which the immediate foreign transactor is
located. The foreign party to a cross-border
securities transaction may be an end-investor
or issuer of securities, or it may be an
intermediary. So it is important to keep in mind
that the country breakdown does not necessarily
indicate the country of beneficial owner or
issuer, nor does it indicate the currency in
which securities are denominated. Similarly,
information on U.S. cross-border banking
liabilities and claims is reported opposite
the country or geographical area where the
foreigner is located, as shown on the records
of reporting institutions. Since reporting
institutions are not required to go beyond
addresses shown on their records, they may
not be aware of the actual country of
domicile of the ultimate beneficiary.
For more information about the Treasury
International Capital reporting system,
please consult the Introduction to the
Capital Movements section in any issue of the
Treasury Bulletin. Alternatively, you may
e-mail or telephone as follows:
1. This is a summary of the
who responded to a survey in 2000-2001.
2. Brief descriptions of the various TIC data collections:
Data are collected monthly on U.S. international securities
transactions; monthly and quarterly on cross-border positions of
banks in the U.S.; quarterly on U.S. nonbanks' positions with
unaffiliated foreigners; and quarterly on U.S. derivatives
contracts with foreigners. (Data on direct investment are
collected separately by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
Department of Commerce.) These data are published in hard copy
and on-line in various formats by the Treasury Department,
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Bureau
of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The benchmark surveys and related annual surveys collect
data on the levels of US Portfolio Holdings of Foreign Securities
and of Foreign Portfolio Holdings of US Securities, excluding direct
investment. The older benchmark surveys were conducted at
3 to 5 year intervals and included only long-term securities
(securities with original maturities of longer than one year).
Beginning in June 2002, these surveys are supplemented by
annual surveys, and both surveys include short-term
securities. The results of these surveys have been published
by the Treasury Department and used by BEA in their estimates
of the US international investment position.