Dutch central bank shifts 86 tonnes of gold to London to boost liquidity

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said it has moved 86 tonnes of gold from its holdings in New York and Ottawa to London, part of a broader effort to enhance the liquidity and tradability of its reserves. The bank explained that gold stored in the United States and Canada cannot be accessed as quickly in a crisis, prompting the relocation to strengthen its resilience.

"With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness," DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said.

Before the transfer, roughly 31% of DNB's gold was held domestically, 18% in London, more than 31% in New York and about 20% in Ottawa. After the move, London now holds about 32% of the bank's official reserves, while New York and Ottawa each hold 18.5%.

The bank described the operation as a combination of sales and purchases: about 59 tonnes were sold in New York and repurchased in London, and more than 27 tonnes were physically moved from the United States and Canada to DNB’s vaults in Zeist, with an equivalent amount transferred from the Netherlands to London. DNB said this approach spread risk and kept the process efficient and cost-conscious.

The 2014 repatriation of 112 tonnes of gold from New York was the last major relocation, undertaken to balance the global distribution of reserves and bolster public confidence amid economic uncertainty.