The Federal Reserve has become the majority holder of US Treasury bonds maturing in the 10-to-15-year range, representing more than half of this maturity bucket. This concentration results directly from the quantitative easing campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the central bank purchased up to $80 billion in Treasuries per month with a deliberate tilt toward longer-duration securities. As of mid-August 2026, the Fed held approximately $4.54 trillion in US Treasury securities, including $1.62 trillion maturing beyond 10 years, on a total balance sheet of $6.75 trillion. This dominant position raises major concerns regarding market liquidity and distortion of the price signals normally provided by bond yields. In parallel, foreign investors’ share of US Treasuries has dropped from nearly 50% a decade ago to approximately 30% today, making domestic buyers, led by the Fed, increasingly essential to the proper functioning of the US bond market.
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