Published on: 2026-07-30
Updated on: 2026-07-30
The Cayman Islands leads the 2026 ranking of countries that owe the U.S. money, sitting above the United Kingdom, Japan and every other jurisdiction in the latest U.S. bank-exposure data. U.S. banks reported $851.7 billion in claims assigned to Cayman as of March 31, 2026.
Cross-border claims account for 98.1% of the total, pointing to Cayman’s role in global finance rather than extraordinary borrowing by its government.
The top 10 jurisdictions carry $3.87 trillion in U.S. bank claims, with Cayman, the United Kingdom and Japan accounting for 56.4%.
Cross-border claims form 98.1% of Cayman’s exposure, while local borrowers account for 69.5% of Japan’s total, showing why financial centres and large economies reach the ranking through different routes.
Foreign holders owned $9.37 trillion in U.S. Treasuries in May 2026, representing money owed by the United States rather than money owed to it.
Sources: FFIEC Country Exposure Lending Survey, March 31, 2026 and U.S. Treasury International Capital data for May 2026.
U.S. banks reported $3.87 trillion in claims across the 10 leading jurisdictions as of March 31, 2026. The figures cover public and private borrowers, not only loans owed by national governments to Washington.
The FFIEC reports the claims on an ultimate-risk basis. A loan to a subsidiary can be reassigned to its parent company’s country when a guarantee places the final repayment risk there. The method identifies where the exposure ultimately sits rather than simply where the original borrower is registered.
| Rank | Country or territory | U.S. bank claims |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cayman Islands | $851.7B |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $740.3B |
| 3 | Japan | $590.3B |
| 4 | Germany | $402.7B |
| 5 | Canada | $335.3B |
| 6 | France | $291.1B |
| 7 | Mainland China | $177.3B |
| 8 | Ireland | $168.8B |
| 9 | South Korea | $157.4B |
| 10 | Mexico | $156.2B |
Source: FFIEC Country Exposure Lending Survey, March 31, 2026. Figures represent country-risk claims held by U.S. banks on an ultimate-risk basis and are rounded to the nearest $0.1 billion.
Cayman leads the United Kingdom by about $111 billion, while only $21.1 billion separates seventh place from tenth. The ranking is concentrated at the top and closely contested near the bottom.
Of Cayman’s total U.S. bank exposure, $835.3 billion comes from cross-border claims. Claims on locally based borrowers remain below $1 billion, while derivatives add $15.5 billion. Derivatives contribute only 1.8% of the total, leaving cross-border finance as the decisive component.
Cayman regulated 13,013 mutual funds and 18,132 private funds in the second quarter of 2026. The scale of its fund sector provides a major channel for investments, financing vehicles and hedging arrangements to be established in the territory even when the money and underlying business come from elsewhere.
Ireland offers a smaller version of the same pattern. Cross-border claims accounted for $133.5 billion of its $168.8 billion total, helping it reach eighth place despite a smaller domestic economy than several jurisdictions outside the top 10.
Japan, Germany and Canada reach the ranking through a different route. Claims on local borrowers reached $410.4 billion in Japan, $241.8 billion in Germany and $97.3 billion in Canada. Local claims represent about 69.5% of Japan’s total and 60.0% of Germany’s, compared with less than 0.1% in Cayman.
Cayman and Ireland therefore reflect the legal location of cross-border finance. Larger economies derive more of their exposure from companies, banks and other borrowers operating inside their own markets.
Rankings based on foreign Treasury holdings answer a different question. Treasury securities are debts issued by the U.S. government, making their owners creditors of the United States.
Foreign holders owned $9.37 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities in May 2026. Japan held $1.143 trillion, the United Kingdom held $948.6 billion, and mainland China held $659.3 billion.
Japan therefore appears third in U.S. bank claims and first among foreign Treasury holders. Borrowers in one economy can owe U.S. banks while institutions in the same economy lend to the U.S. government.
Treasury country totals also reflect where securities are held through custodians and broker-dealers, so the named jurisdiction may not always identify the final beneficial owner. The figures still measure money owed by the United States, not obligations owed to U.S. institutions.
Total U.S. public debt reached $39.714 trillion on July 27, 2026, including $31.924 trillion held by the public and $7.790 trillion in intragovernmental holdings. Foreign Treasury holdings were equivalent to about 29.4% of debt held by the public. The top-10 ranking measures separate claims owned by U.S. banks.
No. The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory comprising Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. It appears in the ranking because the FFIEC reports countries and territories within the same international exposure dataset.
No. The ranking measures the size and location of U.S. bank exposure, not the likelihood of default. A large total may be distributed across thousands of public and private counterparties with different credit profiles, guarantees and repayment capacity.
No. A trade deficit records the difference between the value of imports and exports. It does not create a loan or an automatic repayment obligation between governments.
The next FFIEC survey covers the quarter ending June 30, 2026. Country-exposure reports are normally published about 90 days after the reporting date, making the next update likely in late September or early October 2026. The March 31 survey was released on July 1.
The two rankings measure opposite financial flows. U.S. banks held $590.3 billion in claims on Japanese borrowers at March 31, 2026, while Japanese holders owned $1.143 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities in May. The first is owed to U.S. banks; the second is owed by the U.S. government.
The FFIEC’s June 30, 2026 figures, expected in late September or early October, will show whether Cayman’s cross-border exposure remained concentrated or declined. Cayman’s headline rank will carry less weight than whether those claims remain close to $835.3 billion.
