Dutch central bank shifts billions in gold from US to Britain in ‘crisis preparedness’ move

The Dutch central bank has transferred significant gold reserves from New York and Ottawa to London and the Netherlands. The bank cited improved tradability and crisis preparedness as the primary reasons for the relocation.
Why it matters
This move reflects growing concerns among central banks regarding the security and accessibility of physical assets held in foreign jurisdictions during times of geopolitical instability.
The Dutch central bank announced Wednesday that it has moved billions of dollars worth of its gold reserves out of North America in a move it described as “crisis preparedness” in a time of global political unrest. It said that between March and August, some 86 metric tons (94.8 tons) of gold were transferred to London from the combined total of around 313 metric tons (345 tons) held in New York and Ottawa, Canada. Before the move, New York housed 31.3% of the Dutch gold and Ottawa held 19.7%. After the move, both cities now hold 18.5%, the bank said. The bank owns 612.4 metric tons (675 tons) of gold that was worth 72.2 billion euros (about $83.6 billion) at the end of 2025. “With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves,” the bank’s governor, Olaf Sleijpen, said in a written statement.
Also covering this story
2 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in