Gold: Central Banks Reconsider Where Their Reserves Are Safest

The Netherlands has moved about 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to the Bank of England, a decision that has pushed central banks to take a closer look at where their reserves are safest.

The Dutch central bank said the transfer would improve its crisis preparedness amid geopolitical instability and make its gold easier to sell if necessary. It also wanted the reserves distributed more evenly across regions. Before the move, half of the Netherlands’ gold was held in the United States and Canada. Its 612-tonne reserve is now divided roughly among the Netherlands, Britain and North America, with 37 percent remaining in North America.

The bank has not specified which geopolitical risks it sees. In Germany, officials debated earlier this year how reliable the United States is as a gold custodian, particularly as President Donald Trump sought to pressure the central bank politically. Germany’s Bundesbank has not changed the locations of its gold.

Finland’s reserves are much smaller. The Bank of Finland holds 44 tonnes, spread among Finland and four other central banks: the Bank of England, Sweden’s Riksbank, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Swiss National Bank. The holdings have a market value of about 5.4 billion euros. The bank no longer publishes the shares or precise locations, citing security and agreements with the custodian central banks.

Mika Pösö, head of the Bank of Finland’s market operations department, said diversification had received attention for a long time and that Finland did not compare unfavorably internationally. The bank also assesses liquidity, or how readily the gold could be sold if needed. In late 2024, it sold five tonnes, about 10 percent of its reserve, after a regular review concluded that the country’s foreign-exchange reserves should be larger for national preparedness. The foreign-exchange reserve was increased by about 2 billion euros, with roughly a quarter financed through the gold sale.

“

When it comes to diversifying the gold reserve, the Bank of Finland does not compare unfavorably internationally, and the issue has received attention for a long time.