Treasury International Capital (TIC) Data

In addition to building permits, import and export prices, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey, we also have the TIC data release scheduled for tomorrow.

The release of the U.S. Treasury International Capital (TIC) data is scheduled for Friday, May 16, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. EST.

The Treasury International Capital (TIC) system is a data collection and reporting framework operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to track and monitor cross-border financial flows between the United States and the rest of the world.

While tomorrow’s release will cover the primary monthly categories-such as long-term and short-term securities transactions and banking flows-it won’t provide the complete range of cross-border financial data collected by the TIC system and will only include data through the end of March. Nevertheless, this release remains important, as it offers valuable insights into whether capital is truly moving out of the U.S.

The impact of the tariff announcements on capital outflows cannot be determined yet-even with tomorrow’s report-because we primarily need data from April 2025 to fully assess the effects.

Foreign investors hold approximately $19 trillion in U.S. equities, $9 trillion in Treasury securities, and $5 trillion in U.S. credit instruments. This represents about 20% of all U.S. equities, 30% of outstanding Treasuries, and 30% of total U.S. credit.

Below is a snapshot from the April report. Kindly note that the data extends through the end of February 2025.

Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities totaled $8.817 trillion at the end of February 2025. This figure includes both marketable and non-marketable Treasury bills, bonds, and notes held by foreign investors. This amount represents a 3.4% increase from the previous month and an increase of $818 billion (10.2%) compared to the previous year.

April report showed a net TIC inflow of $284.7 billion. This means that, overall, foreign investors increased their holdings of U.S. securities and other related assets during that period, rather than reducing them.

Countries in the Euro Area collectively hold approximately $1.83 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities.

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The TIC system gathers detailed information on purchases and sales of U.S. securities and financial instruments by foreign entities, as well as U.S. residents’ holdings of foreign securities and other cross-border transactions.

The TIC system provides the U.S. government with data on international portfolio flows and positions, excluding direct investment. It helps measure capital inflows and outflows, informing the official U.S. Balance of Payments and the International Investment Position.

The system collects data through a series of mandatory reports and surveys designed to capture cross-border financial transactions and positions between U.S. residents and foreign residents. Here’s how the system works:

Who Reports:
U.S. banks, other depository institutions, bank holding companies, securities brokers and dealers, and non-banking entities with sizable cross-border holdings or transactions are required to file TIC reports.

What Is Collected:
The system gathers data on:

• Monthly U.S. international securities transactions.

• Monthly and quarterly cross-border positions of banks in the U.S..

• Quarterly positions of U.S. nonbanks with unaffiliated foreigners.

• Quarterly positions in U.S. derivatives contracts with foreigners.

• Annual and benchmark surveys on holdings of long-term and short-term securities.

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