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Flow of funds: the Fed's Z.1 map of who owes what to whom
Published since 1955· Concept
Fact, law or dataA rule, statute, definition or measured number.
A quarterly Fed report, called Z.1, showing what every sector of the US economy owns and owes.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
The Financial Accounts of the United States (release Z.1) split the economy into households, businesses, governments, banks, funds, insurers and the rest of the world. For each instrument, from deposits to Treasuries to mortgages, it shows who holds it as an asset and who owes it as a debt, so every row balances. Economist Morris Copeland designed the framework in a 1952 study; the Fed has published it since 1955. Second-quarter 2026 data put household net worth at a record $195.9 trillion.
Why it matters
It is the official balance sheet of the whole country: where to see who holds the national debt, how leveraged households are, and where savings go.
Think of it like
Like a consolidated balance sheet for a whole portfolio, where each loan appears once as a debt and once as a lender's asset.
Facts, rules and data
Released about ten weeks after each quarter on the Fed Board's website, built from bank call reports, Treasury and SEC filings, insurer and pension data and BEA national accounts.
Debates and risks
Some figures, including much of the household sector, are calculated as residuals, so they can be revised substantially later.
Inside this (2)
Connections (4)
▸Flow of funds: the Fed's Z.1 map of who owes what to whom is compiled quarterly by The Federal Reserve System (the Fed)Fact, law or data
The connection
Staff at the Fed Board in Washington compile Z.1 every quarter, combining bank reports, Treasury and SEC filings, insurance and pension data, and the Commerce Department's national accounts. The Fed uses it to watch leverage and financial stability; economists use it to track who holds the nation's debt and wealth.
When and why
Federal Reserve Board, Washington; quarterly since 1955, released about ten weeks after each quarter ends.
How we know
Each release, and the Fed's Financial Accounts Guide, document the sources and methods behind every table.
Debates and risks
Some series are estimated or residual, and benchmark revisions can rewrite years of history, so early readings are provisional.
▸Flow of funds: the Fed's Z.1 map of who owes what to whom records the deposits created by How banks create money: lending and fractional reservesFact, law or data
The connection
When a bank makes a loan it credits the borrower's account, creating a new deposit. Z.1 records both sides: the loan as a bank asset and the deposit as a bank liability, which appears again as a household or business asset. That lets analysts trace money creation sector by sector.
When and why
In Z.1 tables for depository institutions and for checkable and time deposits, quarterly since 1955.
How we know
Z.1 bank tables reconcile with bank call reports; the Bank of England's 2014 paper 'Money creation in the modern economy' describes the mechanism.
Debates and risks
Reserve requirements have been zero since March 2020, so what really limits lending, capital rules or loan demand, is debated.
▸Flow of funds: the Fed's Z.1 map of who owes what to whom shows household wealth swinging mostly with Stocks: owning a slice of a companyFact, law or data
The connection
Z.1's household balance sheet shows directly and indirectly held stocks as the biggest single swing factor in net worth. In the second quarter of 2026, household net worth rose $12.8 trillion to $195.9 trillion, mostly from stock gains; quarters of falling markets show the reverse. Homes, the other big asset, move more slowly.
When and why
Z.1 table B.101 for households and nonprofits, published quarterly; the second-quarter 2026 data came out September 11, 2026.
How we know
The Fed's release text attributes each quarter's change to revaluations of equities and real estate.
Debates and risks
How much rising stock wealth actually lifts consumer spending, the 'wealth effect', is debated; estimates run a few cents per dollar.
▸Flow of funds: the Fed's Z.1 map of who owes what to whom tracks who holds The national debt and federal deficitsFact, law or data
The connection
Z.1's table for Treasury securities lists every holding sector: the Fed, foreigners, money market funds, banks, pensions, insurers, state and local governments and households. It shows, for instance, that foreigners' share shrank as money funds and households bought more. Analysts use it to see who has absorbed rising deficits.
When and why
Z.1 table L.210, published quarterly by the Fed Board in Washington.
How we know
Its totals reconcile with Treasury's own debt reports and with TIC foreign-holder data.
Debates and risks
The household category is a residual that includes hedge funds and nonprofits, so who exactly holds those Treasuries is unclear.