Dutch central bank relocates 86 tonnes of gold to London citing geopolitical risks
De Nederlandsche Bank transferred 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to its London vaults to improve liquidity and crisis-response capability, while retaining a third of its reserves at home.
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) announced that it has moved 86 tonnes of gold from storage in New York and Ottawa to its vaults in London. The shift, carried out between March and August, combines physical transport with buying and selling transactions to spread the risks associated with moving large quantities of metal.
The Dutch central bank said gold held in London can be traded more quickly than assets stored in the United States or Canada, enhancing the deployability of the reserves in a crisis. "This makes it the quickest for DNB to deploy in a crisis situation," the bank stated, adding that the move strengthens its resilience and preparedness.
After the reallocation, the share of Dutch gold in London rose from 18.1% to 32.1%, while holdings in New York and Ottawa each fell to 18.5%. The Netherlands continues to store about 30.8% of its gold domestically. The total Dutch gold stock stands at 612.4 tonnes, valued at €72.2 billion ($83.7 billion) at the end of 2025.
Industry observers noted that central banks have been adjusting storage locations for about a decade. Laurent Schwartz, president of the National Gold Counter, said the political climate in the United States may encourage some banks to favor alternative sites, and that London offers deep, liquid markets that facilitate lending of gold to other institutions. Analyst John Plassard described the Dutch move as aimed at ensuring immediate availability in a crisis, while cautioning that similar actions by other banks could affect confidence in U.S. storage facilities. The German Bundesbank, however, has so far decided to keep its gold in New York, describing the New York Fed as an important storage site.