On September 2nd (local time), according to AFP news agency, the Bank of the Netherlands (DNB) said it had transferred 86 tons of gold reserves from the US and Canada to the UK, amid increasing geopolitical instability.
DNB said that the amount of gold held in the UK can be traded more easily than the amount of gold being held in the US and Canada.
This helps DNB to mobilize gold as quickly as possible in the event of a crisis," the bank said.
DNB Chairman Olaf Sleijpen said that the transfer of gold helps increase the ability to mobilize reserves in case of necessity. He emphasized that the bank does not think it will have to use this amount of gold, but strengthening response and preparation capabilities is still necessary.
According to DNB, the total gold reserves of the Netherlands reached 612.4 tons, worth about 72.2 billion euros (about 83.6 billion USD) by the end of 2025.
Before the gold transfer, 31.3% of the Netherlands' gold reserves were held in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. After the transfer, the proportion of gold at each location decreased to 18.5%.
Meanwhile, the proportion of gold held in London increased from 18.1% to 32.1%. The Netherlands currently still holds 30.8% of domestic gold reserves.
DNB said the transfer was carried out by combining gold trading with physical gold transportation. More than 27 tons of physical gold were transferred from the US and Canada to the Dutch city of Zeist. After that, an equivalent amount of gold was transported from Zeist to London, thereby avoiding remelting the gold bars.
According to DNB, combining trading and physical transportation helps disperse risks related to transporting a large amount of gold. This activity takes place from March to August this year.
Mr. Laurent Schwartz, Chairman of the French National Gold Exchange based in Paris, said that central banks have adjusted the position of gold reserves in the past decade.
He assessed that the current political context in the US may cause some central banks to prioritize other storage locations. According to him, the UK gold market is the largest in scale and highest in liquidity, helping central banks easily mobilize gold when crises occur, and also more convenient in lending gold to other banking institutions.
Mr. John Plassard, an investment strategy expert at Cité Gestion Private Bank, said that the Netherlands' move is aimed at ensuring that gold can be used as soon as the crisis occurs.
He assessed that this is currently a rather isolated move, but warned that many central banks following suit could affect confidence in the US.
Earlier this year, Germany also worried about the safety of gold reserves in New York. However, the German Federal Reserve Bank (Bundesbank) has no plans to bring this gold back to the country and still considers the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as an important storage place.
