The Central Bank of the Netherlands (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) has completed the transfer of 86 tons of gold from vaults in New York and Ottawa to London. The operation ran from March to August 2026.
The bank explained the step as necessary to strengthen crisis preparedness amid growing geopolitical tensions. Gold in London, according to DNB, can be used or sold faster and more easily if needed.
The Netherlands' total gold reserves amount to 612,4 tons. At the end of 2025, they were valued at 72,2 billion euros. The transferred batch was worth about 10 billion euros.
Before the transfer, almost 31% of the reserves were in New York, about 20% in Ottawa, and 18% in London. After the operation, London's share rose to 32%, with 18,5% remaining in each of the North American vaults.
Part of the gold — more than 27 tons — was physically shipped across the Atlantic to a Dutch vault in Zeist, and then an equivalent amount was sent to London. The remaining 59 tons were sold in New York and bought back in the British capital.
DNB President Olaf Sleijpen noted: "We assume that we will never need to use the gold, but nevertheless we must strengthen our resilience and preparedness."
London remains the world's leading center for physical gold trading, and the bank believes that reserves are most liquid there. Should other central banks follow the Netherlands' example?
The operation did not change the total volume of reserves, but redistributed them for greater efficiency in potentially unstable times.
