Press Release No. 11/428

Press Release: Cross-Border Holdings Increased 7.7 Percent in 2010, Shows IMF Annual Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey Now Available Via New Online Database

November 22, 2011

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today released results from its 2010 annual Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS), the only global survey of portfolio investment holdings. The results—covering positions in equity and debt securities as of end–2010 for 73 CPIS-participating economies—are published in a new online database that leverages current technologies for data and metadata dissemination. Previous CPIS results have been published only in spreadsheet format.

At the end of 2010, cross-border holdings of securities reported in the CPIS amounted to US$40.3 trillion, representing an increase of 7.7 percent in the value of holdings from the end–2009 level. Global holdings declined by 21.4 percent in 2008 as a consequence of the global financial crisis, and increased 21 percent in 2009. The CPIS presents data on a detailed from–whom–to–whom basis. For example, it reveals each CPIS participant’s holdings of long–term debt securities, short–term debt securities, and equity securities cross-classified by every other individual economy in the world.

The new database is available at http://cpis.imf.org and through IMF eLibrary Data.¹ Usability has been enhanced with dynamic data selection and display features, and allows for faster user access to data reports. Information on individual economy compilation practices (metadata) are also presented with similar features. Along with the launch of the improved database, the CPIS website has been redesigned and offers enhanced navigation features, in line with other specialized IMF databases, including the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey, Financial Soundness Indicators, and the Financial Access Survey.

The coverage of the CPIS is augmented with information from two other surveys, namely Securities Held as Foreign Exchange Reserves, and Securities Held by International Organizations (these data sets are disseminated at an aggregate level only, as the data are reported on a confidential basis). All three surveys provide a database on the stock of cross-border holdings of securities. Economies covered by the survey are encouraged to report additional classifications by economic sector of holder, and on the currency composition of the holdings, as well as data on portfolio investment liabilities.

¹ IMF eLibrary data are available to registered journalists via the IMF Press Center at http://presscenter@imf.org.