Currency and deposits (TALC 41)

Latest release
Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods
Reference period
2015
A1A.311.

Currency and deposits (TALC 41) is further classified into:

  • cash and deposits (TALC 411);
  • Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (TALC 412);
  • monetary gold (bullion) (TALC 413); and
  • monetary gold (allocated and unallocated) (TALC 414).

Cash and deposits (TALC 411)

A1A.311.

Cash and deposits (TALC 411) consists of:

  • cash in the form of notes and coins that are of fixed nominal values and are issued or authorised by the central bank or government; and
  • deposits which refers to all claims on the deposit taking corporations (including the central bank) and in some cases, general government or other institutional units.

Includes: Notes and coins on hand; cheques held but not yet deposited; cash and deposits in both Australian currency and foreign currency; deposits placed in the short-term money market such as grants received from the Commonwealth and deposited overnight; units issued by cash management trusts; withdrawable share capital of building societies; claims on the IMF that are components of international reserves and are not evidenced by loans; repayable margin payments in cash related to financial derivative contracts; sight deposits that permit immediate cash withdrawals but not direct third-party transfers; savings and fixed-term deposits; overnight and very short-term repurchase agreements that are included in the national measures of broad money; foreign currency deposits that are blocked because of the rationing of foreign exchange as a matter of national policy; seignorage.

Excludes: Gold and commemorative coins that are not in circulation as legal tender or monetary gold (classified to valuables (TALC 221) or inventories – materials and supplies (TALC 211)); unallocated gold accounts held by monetary authorities as reserves assets (classified to monetary gold (allocated and unallocated) (TALC 414)); claims on the IMF that are evidenced by loans (classified to loans and placements not elsewhere classified (TALC 439)).

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (TALC 412)

A1A.312.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (TALC 412) consists of international reserve assets created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and allocated to its members to supplement reserve assets. SDR holdings represent each holder’s unconditional right to obtain foreign exchange or other reserve assets from other IMF members.

Monetary gold (gold bullion) (TALC 413)

A1A.313.

Monetary gold (gold bullion) (TALC 413) consists of gold bullion, in the form of coins, ingots or bars with a purity of at least 995 parts per 1000, to which the monetary authorities (or others who are subject to the effective control of the monetary authorities) have title and is held as a reserve asset. Monetary gold in the form of bullion is a type of financial asset that has no counterpart liability in GFS and is restricted to central banks or central governments. A central bank is a public financial corporation that issues bank notes and coins and holds the international reserves of the country (in Australia, this is the Reserve Bank of Australia). Gold bullion is traded on organised markets or through bilateral arrangements between central banks.

Excludes: Gold not held as a reserve asset but held primarily as a store of value (classified to valuables (TALC 221)); gold not held as a reserve asset but used in a production process (classified to inventories – materials and supplies (TALC 211)); allocated or unallocated gold accounts held as reserve assets (classified to monetary gold (allocated and unallocated) (TALC 414)); deposits, loans and debt securities denominated in gold (classified to cash and deposits (TALC 411), loans and placements not elsewhere classified ( TALC 439) and debt securities (TALC 421) respectively)).

Monetary gold (allocated and unallocated) (TALC 414)

A1A.314.

Monetary gold (allocated and unallocated) (TALC 414) consists of allocated and unallocated gold accounts to which the monetary authorities (or others who are subject to the effective control of the monetary authorities) have title and is held as a reserve asset. Allocated gold accounts provide ownership of a specific piece of gold. The ownership of the gold remains with the entity placing it for safe custody. Unallocated gold accounts represent a claim against the account custodian to deliver gold. For these accounts, the account provider holds title to a reserve base of physical gold and issues claims to account holders denominated in gold.

Excludes: gold not held as a reserve asset but held primarily as a store of value (classified to valuables (TALC 221)); gold not held as a reserve asset but used in a production process (classified to inventories – materials and supplies (TALC 211 )); unallocated gold accounts not held as reserve assets (classified to cash and deposits (TALC 411)); deposits, loans and debt securities denominated in gold (classified to cash and deposits (TALC 411), loans and placements not elsewhere classified (TALC 439) and debt securities (TALC 421) respectively)).

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