The Netherlands has moved roughly 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of North America in a major reshuffling of the country’s bullion holdings, with the precious gold now concentrated more heavily in London.
The transfer was carried out between March and August by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), which moved Dutch gold previously held in New York and Ottawa into underground storage facilities in London.
The result is a significant change in where the Netherlands keeps its national wealth overseas.
Before the operation, 31.3 percent of the country’s gold reserves were held in the vaults of the U.S. Federal Reserve in New York. That share has now fallen to 18.5 percent, according to UNILAD.
DNB has described the move primarily as a way to make its reserves easier to access during a major crisis.
Gold stored in London can be traded more quickly if a severe economic emergency occurs, according to the central bank. DNB also said the relocation would help it “better prepare for serious crises” amid “increasing geopolitical unrest,” according to the Daily Mail.
“It is simply no longer safe”
But the decision has also sparked speculation about whether the Netherlands is becoming less comfortable with keeping such a large share of its national wealth in the U.S.
Financial expert Johan de Ruiter gave a particularly stark assessment in comments to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
“We must remove our gold from the US as soon as possible,” de Ruiter said. “It is simply no longer safe there.”
His comments come against a backdrop of growing tensions between the U.S. and European countries over trade policy, tariffs and the country’s relationship with longtime allies.
There have also been concerns among European financial officials that worsening diplomatic disputes could, in theory, create risks for foreign assets held in the U.S. Those risks could include legal freezes or restrictions on the movement of capital if relations between countries were to deteriorate significantly.
Together, the changes represent a substantial reduction in the amount of Dutch gold physically stored in North America.
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