Definition
The ratio of commercial bank cash assets to total assets. Measures how much liquidity banks are holding in reserve.
A higher cash buffer means banks are hoarding liquidity — a defensive posture that can restrict lending and market-making. A lower buffer means banks are deploying cash into loans and securities, which is generally supportive for economic activity and risk assets. This indicator uses a "lower_worse" direction and sits in the Credit/Intermediation tier (5% group weight) in the DLI model — a small contribution because credit signals coincide with rather than lead asset price moves.