Ok, glad we are on the same page now. "Holding cash" is vague enough that it could still be in a bank. I thought it was clear what I was talking about since I made the distinction between savings accounts and storing cash under a mattress in my first comment. Savings accounts are risk-free in the same sense that US bonds are risk-free. There is technically some level of risk, but there would have to be a pretty unlikely turn of events to actually lose money. However, there are a whole lot of people out there that don't trust banks and don't trust the government.