Dutch Central Bank Shifts Gold Reserves Amid Geopolitical Unrest

The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has relocated about a quarter of its gold reserves from North America to London. The bank's gold holdings amount to 612.4 tonnes, valued at €72.2 billion at the end of 2025. Until recently, 31.3% of this total was held in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa.

Between March and August, DNB shifted about 86 tonnes from these two locations to London. The new distribution sees 18.5% of its gold still held in each of New York and Ottawa, while London now holds roughly 32%. The relocation was not a straightforward physical repatriation; only 27 tonnes were physically brought from North America to DNB's secure vault near Zeist before a similar quantity was moved to London.

The other roughly 59 tonnes were sold in New York and replaced with gold purchased in London. DNB states that the primary reason for this move is access, not distrust of the vaults themselves. London is the world's principal wholesale gold market, holding around 400,000 gold bars and providing custody services to central banks and other institutions.

The bank specifically linked the relocation to geopolitical unrest and 'crisis preparedness.' This admission suggests that DNB is reassessing what could prevent its reserves from being used when they are needed. Central banks generally prefer to avoid publicly attaching decisions like this to geopolitical risk unless that risk has become part of their operational planning.

The absence of a named crisis should not obscure the bank's statement. It believes that geopolitical conditions have deteriorated enough to justify changing the location of its gold. A central bank does not need to expect an imminent crisis to prepare for one; it only needs to decide that the probability and potential cost of a disruption are high enough to warrant action.