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De Nederlandsche Bank announced this week that it had relocated 86 tonnes of its gold reserves from North America to vaults in London to strengthen crisis preparedness in view of increasing geopolitical unrest. The Dutch central bank said the transfer, completed between March and August, involved a combination of sales in New York with equivalent purchases in London along with limited physical shipments that minimised transport risks. Governor Olaf Sleijpen stated that the bank expects it will never need to use the reserves but must enhance resilience, adding that gold held at the Bank of England meets modern trading standards and can be utilised more readily in a crisis.
Following the relocation De Nederlandsche Bank reported that its 612-tonne gold holdings are now more evenly distributed with 30.8 percent at its Zeist facility, 32.1 percent in London, 18.5 percent in New York and 18.5 percent in Ottawa. The move reduced the share previously held in the United States from 31.3 percent and in Canada from 19.7 percent, according to bank figures that valued the relocated gold at roughly 10.11 billion euros at the end of 2025. A statement from the Dutch authority emphasised that the adjustment makes the reserves more balanced and tradable while maintaining access to major gold markets.
France completed a similar operation earlier this year when the Banque de France shifted 129 tonnes from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York back to Paris through 26 transactions that involved selling non-standard bars in the United States and purchasing compliant bullion in Europe. The French central bank reported a capital gain of 12.8 billion euros from the process which contributed to an overall net profit of 8.1 billion euros for 2025 after a loss the previous year. Banque de France officials described the action as a technical upgrade to align holdings with current international specifications while a World Gold Council assessment noted that 59 percent of central banks now prefer domestic storage for their gold up from 41 percent in 2024.
Germany which still stores 1,236 tonnes or 37 percent of its 3,352-tonne reserves at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York completed one of the largest repatriations a decade ago when the Bundesbank brought back 674 tonnes from New York and Paris between 2013 and 2017. Domestic political calls for further transfers have intensified in recent months with some lawmakers and economists citing concerns over United States policy predictability under the current administration according to a Financial Times report. Bundesbank officials have stated that no additional repatriation is currently planned even as a June 2026 World Gold Council survey found nine percent of central banks increased domestic storage over the past year and another 10 percent diversified overseas locations.
Central banks worldwide have purchased an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold annually over the past four years compared with 500 tonnes in the preceding decade World Gold Council data show. The acceleration coincides with a broader shift in which institutions cite fears over access to reserves during crises or sanctions as key factors in vaulting decisions. Joseph Cavatoni a senior market strategist at the World Gold Council told the BBC that while wars and trade tensions influence some choices they do not top the list of motivations which instead centre on gold’s role as an ultimate reserve asset.
European holdings in North America date to the Cold War era when central banks moved gold to New York for safekeeping against potential conflict Goldman Sachs analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven noted in a recent assessment. The reversal of that pattern reflects changing perceptions of risk with countries such as Poland and Hungary having fully or largely repatriated their own reserves from London and New York in recent years according to central bank disclosures. A survey of more than 70 central banks by the World Gold Council found that 89 percent expect global official gold reserves to rise over the next 12 months underscoring continued demand for the metal as a hedge against systemic uncertainty.
