What is the total amount of credit instruments in the US [TCMDO]?
v1.5
The short answer is that the number represents all of the credit issued to consumers, corporations, and the government and is represented below:
That is, if you add up all of the debt incurred in the US for a particular point in time, you get this number. In future questions I’ll break it down into its component parts.
I highly recommend stopping here. The remainder is really for me to document some inside baseball stuff with the FED.
There is a way to look at all of the details of what makes up this total, however, as you drill down the amount of data can get overwhelming fast.
There are two general sources for drilling down into the details of the total. The first is FRED and the second is Flow of Funds Account also know as Z.1. My take on each can be found here and here.
The FRED series Total Credit Market Debt Owed (shown in the chart above) has a series id of TCMDO and a series code of FL894104005 in the Flow of Funds account. The Flow of Funds account has a dedicated site that allows you to enter that series code (e.g. FL894104005) here and returns the other series codes whose totals were used to calculate the number:
+ FL144104005.Q Nonfinancial business; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL154104005.Q Households and nonprofit organizations; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL214104005.Q State and local governments, excluding employee retirement funds; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL314104005.Q Federal government; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL413065005.Q Agency-and GSE-backed mortgage pools; total mortgages; asset
+ FL264104005.Q Rest of the world; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL404104005.Q Government-sponsored enterprises; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL614104005.Q Finance companies; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL704104005.Q Private depository institutions; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL674122005.Q Issuers of asset-backed securities; debt securities; liability
+ FL644104005.Q Real estate investment trusts; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL543169373.Q Life insurance companies, general accounts; FHLB advances; liability
+ FL664104005.Q Security brokers and dealers; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL734104005.Q Holding companies; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL504104005.Q Funding corporations; debt securities and loans; liability
+ FL513169333.Q Property-casualty insurance companies; FHLB advances; liability
This is where things get interesting. After an email to the very helpful folks over at FRED, not all series codes in the flow of funds accounts are available as series ids in FRED. The way to check this is to do a Google search on a series code (e.g FL144104005) to see if it shows up in FRED. Ironically, you can’t do a similar search directly on the FRED site. If there’s no FRED series ID available you can instead drill down into a specific series code in the Flow of Funds analyzer, however, in order to get to an actual value you must first drill down to a series that doesn’t have a derived or calculated value. Huh?
So let’s take the first code as (e.g FL144104005) as an example. If you put that in the series analyzer you get another set of series that FL144104005 is derived from. The first of those components is FL104104005 so will select it. And believe it or not we have yet another set of series. This set, however, has links to the actual values.
One other twist is it turns out that in 2015, the Federal Reserve decided to discontinue the F.1 table in the flow of funds accounts:
Page: 6 June 11, 2015
F.1 Total Credit Market Borrowing and Lending 1
Billions of dollars; quarterly figures are seasonally adjusted annual rates
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
Description
All sectors; credit market instruments; liability -338.7 652.6 1113.2 1592.3 1953.1 2150.7 1547 2168 2318.8 2569.2 1130.3
Domestic nonfinancial sectors; credit market instruments; liability 1102.4 1405.4 1281.8 1823 1470.3 1723 1680 1399.4 1798.6 2013.9 1172.6
Households and nonprofit organizations; credit market instruments; liability 1.3 -154 -31.5 199.5 203 386.4 298.6 484.2 389.7 373.1 292.1
Nonfinancial corporate business; credit market instruments; liability -358.7 -70.9 294.9 362.6 428.1 463.4 605.7 325.3 399.7 522.9 542
Nonfinancial noncorporate business; credit market instruments; liability -97.1 -19.4 3.2 126 119 219.7 73.4 239.7 179.9 385.9 252.2
Federal government; credit market instruments; liability 1443.9 1580.2 1067.9 1140.2 759.1 667.1 741 314.4 913.1 700 -53.8
State and local governments, excluding employee retirement funds; credit market instruments; liability 113 69.5 -52.7 -5.3 -38.9 -13.7 -38.8 35.7 -83.7 32.2 140.2
Financial business; credit market instruments; liability -1663.4 -901.8 -341.4 -419.3 213.9 271.7 -300.4 323.8 466.2 597.2 -340.7
U.S.-chartered depository institutions; credit market instruments; liability -292.2 -217.6 -50.5 -110.8 -33.5 35.1 -25.8 106.3 35.8 24 -136.2
Foreign banking offices in the U.S.; bankers' acceptances; liability 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Credit unions; FHLB advances; liability -14.1 -0.4 -2 0.9 1.9 8.4 1.7 10.2 12.7 9 -2
Life insurance companies, general accounts; FHLB advances; liability -6.6 -3.2 1.8 4.8 7.8 12.4 7.7 8 13.7 20.3 14.4
Government-sponsored enterprises; credit market instruments; liability -518.4 -233.8 -187.2 -154.6 107.5 75.3 -355.5 156.9 142.5 357.3 -163.5
Agency-and GSE-backed mortgage pools; total mortgages; asset 458.3 186.9 165.3 132.2 132.4 75.3 77.4 27.8 83.4 112.6 -0.9
Issuers of asset-backed securities; total liabilities -614.1 -413.9 -174.2 -145.1 -234.6 -68.4 -165.8 -90.5 -2.9 -14.3 -73.7
Finance companies; credit market instruments; liability -156.2 -174.9 -13.5 -56.7 4.2 28.9 -24.5 11.6 48 80.2 62.8
Real estate investment trusts; credit market instruments; liability -27.6 0.1 25.6 35.5 178.4 75 140.1 49.4 57.4 53.1 44.4
Security brokers and dealers; credit market instruments; liability -49.7 36.9 -37.9 -1.7 22.2 11.5 41.3 -37.4 42.1 -0.1 -65.9
Holding companies; credit market instruments; liability -8 -16.5 -16.5 -99.9 0.5 -8.3 12.9 4 -45 -5.2 -55.3
Funding corporations; credit market instruments; liability -434.8 -65.3 -52.4 -23.9 27 26.5 -10 77.5 78.3 -39.7 35.2
Rest of the world; credit market instruments; liability 222.2 149 172.8 188.6 268.8 156.1 167.4 444.9 54 -42 298.4
All sectors; credit market instruments; liability -338.7 652.6 1113.2 1592.3 1953.1 2150.7 1547 2168 2318.8 2569.2 1130.3
Domestic nonfinancial sectors; credit market instruments; asset 352.6 71.3 -265.6 -121.7 -512.9 -300.5 -769.1 -172.7 -168.8 -91.3 -377.3
Households and nonprofit organizations; credit market instruments; asset 70.5 -95.1 -207.9 -244.9 -568.8 -477.1 -932.3 -420.3 -267.5 -288.3 -797.4
Nonfinancial corporate business; credit market instruments; asset 10.2 2.6 -7.1 -12.8 -24.4 -16.7 -5.7 -11.5 -18.2 -31.3 33.3
Nonfinancial noncorporate business; credit market instruments; asset -6.7 6.6 -4.7 1.8 2.7 4.9 1.9 5.3 3.8 8.6 6.5
Federal government; credit market instruments; asset 309.2 84.5 18.3 104.9 124.2 115.2 130.2 110.6 115.2 104.8 120.3
State and local governments, excluding employee retirement funds; credit market instruments; asset -30.6 72.6 -64.2 29.3 -46.6 73.2 36.8 143.2 -2.1 114.9 260
Financial business; credit market instruments; asset -807.8 -37.9 1141.3 1270.5 1914.8 1914.3 1812 1942.9 1943.5 1958.8 1147.9
Monetary authority; credit market instruments; asset 1001.6 271.5 376.5 34.5 1086.1 480.6 911.1 538.5 299.7 173.1 21.6
U.S.-chartered depository institutions; credit market instruments; asset -280.4 -120.7 173.7 424 253.5 672.5 667 763.4 534.2 725.5 916.2
Foreign banking offices in the U.S.; credit market instruments; asset -287.5 -24.4 42.5 5.8 -7.2 56.4 67 54.6 -3 106.9 65.7
Banks in U.S.-affiliated areas; credit market instruments; asset -2.8 -19.3 -4.9 -0.1 0.3 -5.6 -0.3 -10.3 -7 -4.6 -16.3
Credit unions; credit market instruments; asset 34.1 24.9 38.6 47 50.2 60.2 48.5 75.6 82 34.8 52.2
Property-casualty insurance companies; credit market instruments; asset 33.3 3.9 36.2 1 30.9 15.8 -14.6 14.7 42 21.2 -15.1
Life insurance companies; credit market instruments; asset 139.8 151.6 125.3 74.3 77.4 99.7 117.7 128.9 76.9 75.3 142.2
Private pension funds; credit market instruments; asset 9.5 120.6 73.6 146.6 50.7 33.1 -8.2 78.8 45.5 16.3 51.1
Federal government retirement funds; credit market instruments; asset 7.4 10.9 25.6 15.4 9.4 16.9 6.1 9.4 20.6 31.6 -236.7
State and local government employee retirement funds; credit market instruments; asset -83.1 22.4 7.4 3.3 79.5 35.1 18.3 35.5 83.3 3 2.5
Money market mutual funds; credit market instruments; asset -619.9 -396.6 -9.8 -82.7 30.8 -120.8 -253.6 -356.5 150.4 -23.6 -102
Mutual funds; credit market instruments; asset 387.1 353.6 359.4 642 363.9 476.9 329.7 494.8 491.1 591.8 463.3
Closed-end funds; credit market instruments; asset 10.5 5.2 -1.7 11.2 13.6 -3.8 1.1 2.8 -10.6 -8.3 -1.4
Exchange-traded funds; credit market instruments; asset 46 29.7 46.1 52.3 12.2 51 43.8 48.2 24.4 87.6 77.1
Government-sponsored enterprises; credit market instruments; asset -337.8 -288.4 -163.2 -189.4 59.8 69.6 -188.3 102.1 193.8 170.6 -199
Agency-and GSE-backed mortgage pools; total mortgages; asset 458.3 186.9 165.3 132.2 132.4 75.3 77.4 27.8 83.4 112.6 -0.9
Issuers of asset-backed securities; credit market instruments; asset -579.5 -404.2 -170 -138.7 -229.2 -64 -160 -88.9 8.6 -15.6 -73.7
Finance companies; credit market instruments; asset -214.9 -102.6 -44.4 -28.6 -19 13.8 -2 19.9 -5.4 42.6 26.8
Real estate investment trusts; credit market instruments; asset -10.3 44.1 120.2 127.6 39.2 43.8 64.7 35.3 -1.1 76.5 -37.3
Security brokers and dealers; credit market instruments; asset -192.1 32.2 5.7 89.1 -175.4 -81 -57.8 -28.8 -145.4 -92 53.5
Holding companies; credit market instruments;; asset -16 22.1 3.1 -50.1 56.2 -11.1 -25.4 -8.1 36.3 -47 -32
Funding corporations; credit market instruments; asset -311.3 38.7 -63.9 -46.4 -0.3 -0.2 169.9 5.1 -56.1 -119.6 -10
Rest of the world; credit market instruments; asset 116.5 619.2 237.4 443.5 551.1 536.9 504.1 397.8 544.1 701.7 359.7
But we can still use the series ID to find the values as shown above.