Currency shares of international bonds issued in a foreign currency. 2 series: U.S. dollar, Euro. Latest, 2026 Q2: U.S. dollar 63.02%; Euro 24.38%.
Leaves out bonds sold abroad in the issuer's own currency, such as a German company's euro bond sold in Luxembourg or a U.S. company's dollar bond sold in London. What remains is borrowing in someone else's money, which is where the dollar's lead is starkest. The BIS breaks out only the dollar and the euro (with its legacy currencies before 1999) on this basis.
See also: Laurence Wilse-Samson, "Global Finance: A Money View", chapter 12, International Bond Markets
Classroom exerciseCompute the dollar's average share over the first three years in the data and over the last three. Has the dollar's role in foreign-currency borrowing grown or shrunk? Why does this measure matter more for emerging-market balance-sheet risk than the reserve share does? Teach page
Cite asBalance of Power, "Currency shares of international bonds issued in a foreign currency", data through 2026 Q2. Source: BIS debt securities statistics, international debt securities issued by residents of all countries in a currency other than their own, amounts outstanding (BIS data portal, WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB); Balance of Power calculations.
| Date | U.S. dollar | Euro |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q3 | 63.77 | 23.43 |
| 2024 Q4 | 65.49 | 22.39 |
| 2025 Q1 | 64.77 | 22.96 |
| 2025 Q2 | 63.01 | 24.64 |
| 2025 Q3 | 63.11 | 24.68 |
| 2025 Q4 | 63.14 | 24.66 |
| 2026 Q1 | 63.08 | 24.47 |
| 2026 Q2 | 63.02 | 24.38 |
Alongside: Currency shares of international debt securities; Currency shares of banks' cross-border lending
| Column | Source | Series key | Status | Data through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
usd_v | bis | WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.F.USD.A.A.A.A.A.I | live | 2026 Q2 |
eur_v | bis | WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.F.EU1.A.A.A.A.A.I | live | 2026 Q2 |
total_v | bis | WS_DEBT_SEC2_PUB/Q.3P.3P.1.1.C.A.F.TO1.A.A.A.A.A.I | live | 2026 Q2 |