The sector known as foreign investors includes individuals, non-financial businesses and financial institutions not domiciled in the United States, as well as foreign central governments and supranationals. A foreign central bank is the monetary authority of a foreign country, such as the People's Bank of China (PBC), the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Canada. Foreign central banks participate in US financial markets for two reasons. The first reason is to stabilize their currency against the US dollar. Another reason is to buy a financial instrument with excess funds because it is perceived to be an attractive investment vehicle.

A supranational organization is an international organization created by two or more central governments through international treaties. We can divide supranationals into two categories (multilateral development banks and others). These are the former supranational financial institutions that are supposed to provide financial assistance with funds received from member countries to developing countries and promote regional integration in specific geographic regions. The largest multilateral development banks are the European Investment Bank with total assets of over $300 billion and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, also known as the World Bank, with total assets of over $250 billion. The Inter American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank account for less than a third of the assets of the two largest multilateral development banks.

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