As of September 30, 2021, approximately $427 million of our cash was held outside of the U.S. In the event we need to utilize any of the cash held outside the U.S. for purposes within the U.S., there are no material legal or other economic restrictions regarding the repatriation of cash from any of the countries outside the U.S. where we have cash. Management believes the company’s U.S. operating cash flows and cash on hand, together with its availability under long-term, revolving credit facilities, uncommitted short-term credit facilities and committed and uncommitted accounts receivable factoring programs, will be sufficient to meet the cash requirements of the U.S. portion of our ongoing operations, scheduled principal and interest payments on U.S. debt, dividend payments, capital expenditures and other U.S. cash requirements. If non-U.S. funds are needed for our U.S. cash requirements and we are unable to provide the funds through intercompany financing arrangements, we would be required to repatriate funds from non-U.S. locations where the company has previously asserted indefinite reinvestment of funds outside the U.S.
Based on its indefinite reinvestment assertion, the company has not provided deferred taxes on earnings in certain non-U.S. subsidiaries because such earnings are intended to be indefinitely reinvested in its international operations. It is not practical to estimate the additional taxes that may become payable if these earnings were remitted to the U.S.
Share Repurchases
The company’s share repurchases, net of issuances, totaled $325 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to $69 million of repurchases, net of issuances, during the same period of 2020. The company’s share repurchases are completed using cash on hand, cash provided by operating activities and available borrowings.
Debt Facilities and Refinancing
Given our cash flow projections and unused credit facilities that are available until March 2024, our liquidity is strong and is expected to meet our ongoing cash and debt service requirements. Total interest-bearing debt of $8.5 billion and $7.8 billion was outstanding at September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively.
At September 30, 2021, taking into account our outstanding letters of credit, approximately $1.7 billion was available under existing long-term, multi-currency committed revolving credit facilities, which are available until March 2024. In addition to these facilities, the company had approximately $1 billion of short-term uncommitted credit facilities available as of September 30, 2021, of which $24 million was outstanding and due on demand.
While ongoing financial and economic conditions in certain areas may raise concerns about credit risk with counterparties to derivative transactions, the company mitigates its exposure by allocating the risk among various counterparties and limiting exposure to any one party. We also monitor the credit ratings of our suppliers, customers, lenders and counterparties on a regular basis.
We were in compliance with all loan agreements at September 30, 2021, and for all prior years presented, and we have met all debt payment obligations. The U.S. note agreements and bank credit agreement contain certain restrictions relating to dividends, investments, financial ratios, guarantees and the incurrence of additional indebtedness. The most restrictive of our debt covenants requires us to maintain a leverage ratio (as defined) of no greater than 5.0 times, which will change to 4.5 times as of December 31, 2022. As of September 30, 2021, the company could borrow up to its limits available under the company’s long-term multi-currency committed revolving facilities and short-term uncommitted credit facilities without violating our existing debt covenants. Additional details regarding our debt are available in Note 15 accompanying the consolidated financial statements within Item 1 of this report.
CONTINGENCIES, INDEMNIFICATIONS AND GUARANTEES
Details about the company’s contingencies, indemnifications and guarantees are available in Note 21 and Note 22 accompanying the consolidated financial statements included within Item 1 of this report. The company is routinely subject to litigation incidental to operating its businesses and has been designated by various federal and state environmental agencies as a potentially responsible party, along with numerous other companies, for the clean-up of several hazardous waste sites, including in respect of sites related to alleged activities of certain former Rexam subsidiaries. The company believes the matters identified will not have a material adverse effect upon its liquidity, results of operations or financial condition.