NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 78

Note 2. Cash and Other Monetary Assets

Cash and Other Monetary Assets as of September 30, 2018, and 2017

(In billions of dollars) 2018 2017

Unrestricted cash:

Cash held by Treasury for governmentwide operations ................................. 378.5 153.3

Other......................................................................................................... 4.9 3.7

Restricted..................................................................................................... 31.6 26.1

Total cash ............................................................................................... 415.0 183.1

International monetary assets ........................................................................ 66.7 63.3

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

Foreign currency........................................................................................... 14.7 13.7

Total cash and other monetary assets....................................................... 507.5 271.2

Unrestricted cash includes cash held by Treasury for governmentwide 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 the Treasury increased by $225.2 billion (an increase of approximately 147 percent) in fiscal year 2018 due to Treasury’s

investment and borrowing decisions to manage the balance and timing of the government’s cash position.

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 Security Assistance Accounts (SAA), which execute Foreign Military Sales. The

SAA included $26.3 billion and $21.3 billion as of September 30, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

International monetary assets include the U.S. reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and U.S.

holdings of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The U.S. reserve position in the IMF is an interest-bearing claim on the IMF

that includes the reserve asset portion of the financial subscription that the U.S. has paid in as part of its participation in the

IMF as well as any amounts drawn by the IMF from a letter of credit made available by the U.S. as part of its financial

subscription to the IMF. The IMF promotes international monetary cooperation and a stable payments system to facilitate

growth in the world economy. Its primary activities are surveillance of members’ economies, financial assistance, as

appropriate, and technical assistance.

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 from the U.S. to the IMF. The balance available under the letter of credit totaled

$100.0 billion and $105.3 billion as of September 30, 2018, and 2017 respectively. The U.S. reserve position in the IMF had

a U.S. dollar equivalent of $15.4 billion and $11.5 billion as of September 30, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the existing reserve assets of its members.

These interest-bearing assets can be obtained by IMF allocations, transactions with IMF member countries, or in the form of

interest earnings on SDR holdings and reserve positions in the IMF. U.S. SDR holdings are an interest-bearing asset of

Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF). The total amount of SDR holdings of the U.S. was the equivalent of $51.0

billion and $51.5 billion as of September 30, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

The IMF allocates SDRs to its members in proportion to each member’s quota in the IMF. The SDR Act, enacted in

1968, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to issue SDR Certificates (SDRCs) to the Federal Reserve in exchange for

dollars. The amount of SDRCs outstanding cannot exceed the dollar value of SDR holdings. The Secretary of the Treasury

determines when Treasury will issue or redeem SDRCs. SDRCs outstanding totaled $5.2 billion as of September 30, 2018,

and 2017, and are included in Note 16—Other Liabilities.
79 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

As of September 30, 2018, and 2017, other liabilities included $49.3 billion and $49.9 billion, respectively, of interestbearing liability to the IMF for SDR allocations. The SDR allocation item represents the cumulative total of SDRs distributed

by the IMF to the U.S. in allocations. The U.S. has received no SDR allocations since 2009.

Gold is valued at the statutory price of $42.2222 per fine troy ounce. The number of fine troy ounces of gold was

261,498,927 as of September 30, 2018, and 2017. The market value of gold on the London Fixing was $1,187 and $1,283 per

fine troy ounce as of September 30, 2018, and 2017, respectively. In addition, silver is valued at the statutory price of

$1.2929 per fine troy ounce. The number of fine troy ounces of silver was 16,000,000 as of September 30, 2018, and 2017.

The market value of silver on the London Fixing was $14.31 and $16.86 per fine troy ounce as of September 30, 2018, and

2017, respectively. Gold totaling $11.0 billion as of September 30, 2018, and 2017, was pledged as collateral for gold

certificates issued and authorized to the FRBs by the Secretary of the Treasury. Gold certificates were valued at $11.0 billion

as of September 30, 2018, and 2017, which are included in Note 16—Other Liabilities. Treasury may redeem the gold

certificates at any time. Foreign currency is translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate at fiscal year-end. The foreign

currency is maintained by the ESF and various U.S. federal entities as well as foreign banks.