NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 84 

Note 2. Cash and Other Monetary Assets 

Cash and Other Monetary Assets as of September 30, 2022, and 2021 

(In billions of dollars) 2022 2021 

Unrestricted cash: 

Cash held by Treasury for government-wide operations .......................................... 617.0 198.4 

Other ................................................................................................................... 3.7 5.7 

Restricted .............................................................................................................. 46.8 46.0 

Total cash ......................................................................................................... 667.5 250.1 

International monetary assets .................................................................................. 185.3 197.0 

Gold and silver ....................................................................................................... 11.1 11.1 

Foreign currency .................................................................................................... 13.9 16.8 

Total cash and other monetary assets ................................................................. 877.8 475.0 

Unrestricted cash includes cash held by Treasury for government-wide operations (operating cash) and all other 

unrestricted cash held by the federal entities. Operating cash represents balances from tax collections, federal debt receipts,

and other various receipts net of cash outflows for federal debt repayments and other payments. Treasury checks outstanding 

are netted against operating cash until they are cleared by the FR System. Other unrestricted cash not included in Treasury’s 

operating cash balance includes balances representing cash, cash equivalents, and other funds held by entities, such as 

undeposited collections, deposits in transit, demand deposits, amounts held in trust, and imprest funds. Operating cash held 

by Treasury increased by $418.7 billion compared to the end of the prior fiscal year largely due to Treasury investment and 

borrowing policy decisions to manage the balance and timing of the government’s cash position. During 2021, the debt 

ceiling constraints forced Treasury to maintain a significantly lower operating cash balance. When the debt ceiling was 

increased in December 2021, Treasury was able to bring the operating cash balance back to its one-week prudent policy level. 

Restrictions on cash are due to the imposition on cash deposits by law, regulation, or agreement. Restricted cash is 

primarily composed of cash held by the SAA, which executes Foreign Military Sales. The SAA included $39.9 billion and 

$38.6 billion as of September 30, 2022, and 2021, respectively. 

International monetary assets include the U.S. reserve position in the IMF and U.S. holdings of SDR. The U.S. reserve 

position in the IMF had a U.S. dollar equivalent of $31.3 billion and $32.7 billion as of September 30, 2022, and 2021, 

respectively. Only a portion of the U.S. financial subscription to the IMF is made in the form of reserve assets; the remainder

is provided in the form of a letter of credit. The balance available under the letter of credit totaled $74.4 billion and $83.0

billion as of September 30, 2022, and 2021 respectively. The total amount of SDR holdings of the U.S. was the equivalent of 

$153.6 billion and $163.9 billion as of September 30, 2022, and 2021, respectively. For more information regarding the U.S. 

participation in the IMF and SDR, see Treasury’s financial statements and Note 27—Disclosure Entities and Related Parties. 

The gold reserves that are held by the government are partially offset by a liability for gold certificates issued by the 

Secretary to the FRBs at the statutory rate. As of September 30, 2022, and 2021, gold totaling $11.0 billion per statutory 

carrying value was pledged as collateral for gold certificates also valued at $11.0 billion. All the gold certificates issued are 

payable to the FRBs, and a small portion of gold is in the custody of the FRBs. Additionally, the U.S. Mint holds 100,000 

FTOs of gold without certificates. The amount for gold and silver listed in the above table is based on the statutory values 

which are $42.2222 per FTO of gold and $1.2929 per FTO of silver. As of September 30, 2022, and 2021, the number of 

FTOs of gold and silver held is 261,498,927.0 and 16,000,000.0, respectively. While gold and silver are valued on the 

Balance Sheet using statutory rates, the market value of gold on the London Fixing was $1,671.75 and $1,742.80 per FTO as 

of September 30, 2022, and 2021, respectively and the market value of silver was $19.02 and $21.53 per FTO as of 

September 30, 2022, and 2021, respectively. Please refer to the financial statements of Treasury for additional information 

regarding gold reserves and Treasury’s liability for gold. 

The foreign currency is maintained by Treasury’s ESF and various U.S. federal entities as well as foreign banks. 

Foreign currency is translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate at fiscal year-end.