The U.S. national debt is a debt to who? The World Bank? I thought they only loan to developing countries?

Question

The U.S. national debt is a debt to who? The World Bank? I thought they only loan to developing countries?

Answer 1

Anyone can buy treasury bill or notes. TBills are short term and traded frequently. Long term treasury notes pay more interest and are less liquid. Many different people and entities own US treasury instruments. Japan and China hold a large portion of our debt. The rest is probably held by individuals and other countries.

Answer 2

When the US government runs a budget deficit, it issues government bonds.  These bonds can be bought by anybody, from individual investors to other countries.  US gov bonds are considered the safest investment in the world, so they have a relatively low interest rate.  Because they are so safe, countries like China have been buying lots of them with their foreign exchange reserves, so a lot of it is owned by other countries.

Answer 3

The Federal govn't borrows money, - just like anyone else.

They've raided Social Security and left a bunch of I.O.U's instead. You can buy a treasury note and receive interest on it. That's one way the Feds actually borrow money.

Answer 4

The government sell gov bonds to other countries an to international bankers . These are the holders of the national debt .

Answer 5

The US National Debt is Debt held by Social Security and everybody else in the world.

06/02/2008

Debt Held by the Public: $5,299,425,239,865.48

Intragovernmental Holdings: $4,096,913,314,130.09

Total Debt: $9,396,338,553,995.57

Who owns the debt?

The Treasury Bulletin, available online from the Financial Management Service categorizes ownership of U.S. Government securities by types of investors.

What is the Debt Held by the Public?

The Debt Held by the Public is all federal debt held by individuals, corporations, state or local governments, foreign governments, and other entities outside the United States Government less Federal Financing Bank securities. Types of securities held by the public include, but are not limited to, Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, TIPS, United States Savings Bonds, and State and Local Government Series securities.

What are Intragovernmental Holdings?

Intragovernmental Holdings are Government Account Series securities held by Government trust funds, revolving funds, and special funds; and Federal Financing Bank securities. A small amount of marketable securities are held by government accounts.

Answer 6

Currently FRIGGIN CHINA