The Dutch central bank has announced it moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves from the US and Canada to London, pointing to “increasing geopolitical unrest”.
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) mentioned that gold stored in London can be traded more easily compared to that in New York and Ottawa.
“This makes it the quickest for DNB to deploy in a crisis situation,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
“With this step, we have improved the deployability of the gold reserves. We assume that we will never need to deploy the gold, but it is nevertheless necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” said DNB’s president, Olaf Sleijpen.
At the end of 2025, the total Dutch gold stock was reported at 612.4 tonnes with a value of €72.2bn ($83.7bn), according to DNB.
Prior to this transfer, 31.3% of its gold was held in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa.
Following this move, each location now holds 18.5% of the Dutch gold reserve.
The portion of gold kept in London rose from 18.1% to 32.1%. The bank continues to hold 30.8% of its gold within the Netherlands.
The transfer involved both buying and selling as well as physically moving some gold, according to the bank.
More than 27 tonnes of physical gold were shifted from the US and Canada to Zeist.
An equivalent amount was then transferred from Zeist to London, avoiding any melting down of bars.
“By combining buying and selling and physical transport, the risks associated with physically moving a large quantity of gold have been spread,” stated DNB.
This operation took place between March and August this year, they noted.
Laurent Schwartz, who is president of the Paris-based National Gold Counter that facilitates trading in France, remarked that central banks have been relocating their reserves for about ten years now.
“The current political context in the United States might also push certain central banks into favouring other storage locations,” he mentioned.
Schwartz pointed out that London’s market is among the deepest and most liquid globally, which simplifies deployment during crises.
“Central banks can more easily lend their gold there to other banking institutions.”
John Plassard, an analyst at Cite Gestion Private Bank, explained that this move by the Dutch bank aims “for there to be more immediate availability in the event of a crisis.”
FOR THE MOMENT , IT WAS A “FAIRLY ONE – OFF MOVE ” , BUT HE WARNED THAT IF OTHER CENTRAL BANKS FOLLOWED SUIT , IT COULD DAMAGE CONFIDENCE IN THE US.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR , THERE WERE CONCERNS RAISED IN GERMANY ABOUT THE SECURITY OF ITS CENTRAL BANK ’ S RESERVES IN NEW YORK.
HOWEVER , THE POWERFUL BUNDESBANK HAS DECIDED FOR THE MOMENT NOT TO SHIFT ITS RESERVES AWAY FROM NEW YORK.
“THE NEW YORK FED IS AND REMAINS AN IMPORTANT STORAGE SITE FOR OUR GOLD ,” THE BANK TOLD PUBLIC TV STATION ARD IN JANUARY.
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