Using data from twelve countries in the European Union over a 13-year period (2002-2015) with 9,707 observations, the effect of multinationality and the crisis on cash holdings is examined in a European setting. Both firm and country characteristics of firms are taken into account. This research contributes to the fields of risk management in the area of cash holdings and multinationality. Findings suggest that the cash ratio of companies is not significantly related to multinationality or the financial crisis. Moreover, findings show that, when taking determinants of cash holdings into account, Dutch firms have significantly higher cash holdings than eight out of eleven countries in the sample.