Monday, June 23, 2014

US households' holdings of Agency and GSE backed securities went from over a trillion to effectively zero

The peak was in Q3 2008

*category includes non-profits, domestic hedge funds, private equity funds, and personal trusts

US Banks' Holdings of Government Obligations

US Depository Institutions now hold, as a percentage of their balance sheets, far more government backed assets (Treasuries + Agencies + GSE backed mortgage securities + municipal securities and loans + reserves at the fed + vault cash) than in recent history.

And despite the large purchases of treasuries and GSE backed mortgage securities by the Fed since the start of the crisis, US banks have also increased their holdings of both.  

Source: 2014 Q1 Flow of Funds, Table L.109