Dutch central bank relocates gold reserves to London to boost crisis readiness

The Netherlands’ central bank has completed a significant repositioning of its gold reserves, transferring 86 tonnes from North America to London. This strategic move reduces the share of Dutch bullion held in New York to 19 per cent, down from 31 per cent, as the institution seeks to ensure faster access to its assets during potential financial crises. De Nederlandsche Bank, known as DNB, announced on Wednesday that it sold approximately 59 tonnes of gold held in New York and purchased an equivalent amount of London Good Delivery-standard bullion. The operation involved physically moving more than 27 tonnes from the United States and Canada to the Netherlands, while a similar volume of tradeable bullion was transferred from the Netherlands to London.

DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen stated in a release that the relocation has improved the tradability of the country’s gold reserves. He emphasised that while the bank expects it will never need to utilise these reserves, it is essential to strengthen resilience and preparedness. The decision is driven by increasing geopolitical unrest, prompting DNB to spread risk more evenly between North America, Britain and the Netherlands. Gold held at the Bank of England meets international trading standards and can be deployed more quickly than bullion stored in New York or Ottawa, the bank noted. Although DNB did not indicate a loss of confidence in the United States or Canada, the move reflects a broader European debate regarding the location of national gold reserves.

The repositioning is notable because it alters where a major Western central bank wants its gold available in an emergency, rather than changing the total amount of gold owned. The Netherlands’ total gold holdings remain unchanged at 612.4 tonnes. Following the transfer, London now holds the largest share at 32 per cent, up from 18 per cent, while 31 per cent remains at DNB’s cash centre in Zeist. New York and Ottawa each hold 19 per cent. The reserves were valued at 72.2 billion euros, or 83.6 billion US dollars, at the end of 2025. John Plassard, an analyst at Geneva-based Cité Gestion Private Bank, described the Dutch decision as a fairly one-off move but warned that widespread shifts by other central banks could hurt confidence in the United States.

This trend follows similar actions by other European nations. In April, the Bank of France pulled its remaining gold stored in New York and replaced it with a similar amount in Paris. France had been storing 129 tonnes, or about 5 per cent of its total holdings, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a practice begun in the late 1920s. BdF Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau stated that the decision to keep the new bars in Paris was not politically motivated, but rather due to the higher-standard gold bars being traded on a European market. Meanwhile, Germany’s Bundesbank has faced calls to repatriate some of the roughly one-third of its bullion stored in New York. Germany holds the world’s second-largest gold reserves, with about 1,200 tonnes kept in the New York Federal Reserve’s vaults in Manhattan. The Bundesbank has stated that this location remains an important storage site for its gold.

The Dutch reshuffle occurs as central banks continue to accumulate bullion amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Official-sector net purchases reached a record 289 tonnes in the second quarter, according to the World Gold Council. Reported buying added another 23 tonnes in July, led by China and Poland. Gold was trading above 4,475 US dollars per ounce on Thursday, supported by a weaker US dollar and lower Treasury yields. At the same time, China is building infrastructure to draw more bullion trading and price discovery towards Asia. Hong Kong launched a central gold clearing system in July and is developing yuan-denominated futures and a physical-delivery link with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, aiming to expand vault capacity to more than 2,000 tonnes by 2030. These developments highlight an increasingly important question for reserve managers: not simply whether to own gold, but where the metal is held and how quickly it can be mobilised.