De Nederlandsche Bank quietly relocated 86 metric tons of gold from North America to London between March and August, citing increasing geopolitical unrest. The Dutch central bank shifted the metal to strengthen crisis preparedness and improve the tradability of its reserves, leaving holdings in New York and Ottawa at 18.5 percent.
Shifting Gold Across the Atlantic to Strengthen Crisis Preparedness
The Netherlands rearranged a major portion of its national gold reserves over several months, pulling tens of metric tons out of North American vaults and repositioning them in Europe. De Nederlandsche Bank stated that the physical transfer involved 86 metric tons of gold moved from the United States and Canada to London between March and August. This total represents over a quarter of the approximately 313 metric tons that DNB had stored in the US and Canada.
Central bank officials linked the reshuffle directly to increasing geopolitical unrest, arguing that better distribution of the country’s bullion makes it significantly easier to trade during an emergency. The Dutch gold stock stood at 612.4 metric tons by the end of 2025, worth €72.2bn (£61.9bn), and the bank’s gold was worth a total of around $83 billion at the end of last year. DNB made no mention of what kind of crisis it was preparing for.
With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness.
Olaf Sleijpen, governor of the DNB
Why London Vaults Offer Faster Access During Emergencies
Positioning the bullion in the British capital places it inside one of the world’s primary financial hubs. The Bank of England operates one of the world’s most important gold markets, and its underground vaults hold the second-largest haul of gold globally. According to a recent survey by the World Gold Council, 57pc of responding central banks store some gold at the Bank of England, making it the most widely used foreign custodian. This includes Venezuela, whose gold has been kept in the UK despite requests from Nicolás Maduro’s government to repatriate it. At the time of his ousting earlier this year, a lack of formal recognition of Venezuela’s new administration meant that the Bank of England declined to release the gold – then worth more than $3bn. Maduro, the former Venezuelan president, attempted to retake the gold stored at the Bank in 2018 to prop up his nation’s collapsing economy, but the Bank refused the request because the UK did not recognise him as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
By contrast, central bank leadership noted that gold stored in New York and Ottawa is less directly deployable during a rapid financial crisis. While New York’s underground vault in Manhattan previously housed a large portion of the Dutch reserves, central bank planners prioritized the liquidity that London provides. The Bank of England’s vaults are seen as the easiest place to quickly trade gold in a crisis situation.
How the Complex Logistics Were Executed
Executing a multi-ton bullion transport across oceans requires meticulous risk management. Exactly how the metal crossed the Atlantic wasn’t disclosed. Rather than moving every bar directly across the Atlantic, the operation combined physical transport with simultaneous market transactions. The bank physically transferred bars from New York and Ottawa to the Netherlands, then moved an equivalent amount to London. Additionally, the bank also sold some gold in New York and bought the same amount in London. Furthermore, over 27 metric tons of gold from the US and Canada was physically relocated to Zeist.
This multi-pronged approach allowed officials to spread the risks associated with such a complex physical gold relocation. The bank said it combined the processes to spread the risks associated with such a complex physical gold relocation. The maneuvers left the distribution of Dutch reserves altered significantly across international jurisdictions.
| Location | Previous Holding Share | Current Holding Share |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 31.3% | 18.5% |
| Ottawa | 19.7% | 18.5% |
| London | Unspecified | 31.3% |
Broader Worries Over Transatlantic Relations
The quiet redistribution follows prior warnings from the Dutch central bank regarding the verharde relatie between Europe and the United States since the return of President Trump in the White House. DNB previously cautioned that the US could easily shut down payment traffic in the Netherlands, prompting the central bank to argue multiple times for becoming less dependent on the US. Nonetheless, when asked, DNB stated it had no concerns about the possibility that the US might deploy the Dutch gold reserves in the event of a further deteriorating relationship, such as holding it hostage as leverage.
Independent commodity analysts note that wider market jitters also played a role in how central banks view physical storage locations. Earlier market turbulence sparked a scramble to move gold out of the US amid fears that Donald Trump could impose a tariff on gold. Future prices in New York rose to a premium of more than $100 (£74) compared to London as banks, refiners and dealers raced to secure metal for delivery. Mr Trump eventually clarified that gold would be exempt from tariffs, though analysts warned that the episode might undermine New York’s position as the largest gold-futures market. Bullion has historically been exempt from any tariffs because of its important role in the financial system.
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