Gold repatriation refers to plans of various governments to bring home their gold stored outside the home country.
Many nations use foreign vaults for safe-keeping of part of their gold reserves. In 2014, there was movement by some European nations to return gold stored abroad back to the owner country. The Dutch De Nederlandsche Bank reduced its proportion of gold held by the New York Federal Reserve from 51% to 31%, and Austria and Belgium reviewed the possibility of taking similar measures.
Video Gold repatriation
Venezuela
Before 2012, the Central Bank of Venezuela held about 211 tons of its 365 tons of gold reserves in American, European, and Canadian banks. In January 2012, however, Venezuela completed the move of 160 tons of gold bars (valued at about $9 billion) back home. The operation was ordered by President Hugo Chávez in August 2011 and was overseen by Central Bank chair Nelson Merentes.
Maps Gold repatriation
The Netherlands
In 2014, 122.5 tons of Dutch gold reserves were returned to the Amsterdam from New York, where they had been stored in a vault of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; the De Nederlandsche Bank (NRC), the Dutch central bank, said that it "felt that in times of financial crisis, it was better to have the gold near at hand." The Netherlands continues to store gold reserves in New York, Ottawa and London.
Germany
In January 2013, the German central bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) announced plans to repatriate 300 tonnes of its 1,500 tons of gold from the US and 374 tonnes from France by 2020, in order to have half (1,695.3 tonnes) of its official gold reserves stored in Frankfurt. The gold in the U.S. was earned by West Germany through trade surpluses in the 1950s and 1960s and was never moved out of the United States due to fear of invasion by the Soviet Union. In 2013, a mere 5 tonnes were shipped due to logistical difficulties. However, Germany repatriated 120 t in 2014 (35 tonnes from Paris, 85 t from New York), 210 t in 2015 (110.5 t from Paris and 99.5 t from New York) and 200 t in 2016.
Belgium
In an interview with Belgium broadcaster VTM Nieuws Sunday, Luc Coene, governor of Belgium's central bank, confirmed that the bank is looking at how they can bring their gold reserves back into the country.
According to IMF data compiled by the World Gold Council, Belgium holds 227.4 metric tons of gold, representing 34.2% of its official foreign reserves. According to reports, most of the gold is held outside of the country with the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Bank for International Settlements.
Switzerland
Save our Swiss Gold motion was a citizen movement that called for the central bank to hold at least 20 percent of its assets in gold, prohibit selling any gold in future and bring all its reserve of gold back in the country. This referendum was held on November 30, 2014, but was lost.
Austria
Austria currently holds 80% of their 280 tons of gold in London, 17% in Austria, and 3% in Switzerland. Citing a need for risk diversification, Austria announced they will be repatriating gold from London during 2015. After the repatriation process has completed, 50% of Austria's gold will be held in Austria, 20% in Switzerland, and the remaining 30% in London.
India
India's central bank bought 200 metric tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund in 2009, in the first major move by a major central bank to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves.
Mexico
In 2011, Mexico quietly purchased nearly 100 tons of gold bullion, as central banks embarked on their biggest bullion buying spree in 40 years. China, Russia, and India had acquired large amounts of gold in recent years, while Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bolivia had made smaller purchases.
Bangladesh
On September 9, 2010, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced the sale of 10 metric tons of gold to the Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.
See also
- Fiat currency
- Gold as investment
- Gold standard
- Moscow gold
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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