Central Banks Diversify Custody, Contradicting Reports of Gold Repatriation

The World Gold Council recently surveyed 76 central banks about their gold reserves and found that many have been spreading their holdings across multiple jurisdictions, contradicting earlier reports of a 'homecoming' trend.

While some central banks did increase domestic storage or bring gold back home, more actually diversified into additional overseas locations. In fact, 10% of respondents increased foreign storage in the past year, compared to just 9% that increased domestic storage.

The survey found that the majority of central bank gold still sits in someone else's vault, with the Bank of England being the most popular location at 57%, followed by domestic storage at 49%. The Swiss National Bank saw a decline from 12% to 6% in terms of holding central bank gold.

Some have interpreted this as an attempt to reduce risks associated with foreign politics, such as what happened to Russian reserves when they were frozen in February 2022. Reserve managers are spreading their holdings across multiple locations to mitigate these risks and ensure liquidity.