The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), announced Wednesday that it has moved billions of dollars worth of its gold reserves from North America to London. The move is part of the bank's "crisis preparedness" strategy in a period of global political instability.
Between March and August, approximately 86 metric tons of gold were transferred to London. Previously, these reserves were held in New York and Ottawa, Canada. Prior to the relocation, New York held 31.3% and Ottawa held 19.7% of the Dutch gold. Following the move, both locations now hold 18.5% of the total.
The DNB owns a total of 612.4 metric tons of gold, which was valued at approximately 72.2 billion euros (about $83.6 billion) at the end of 2025. According to the bank's governor, Olaf Sleijpen, the relocation has improved the "tradability" of the gold reserves. "We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness," Sleijpen stated in a written announcement.
The transfer involved more than 27 metric tons of gold being physically moved from the United States and Canada to the bank's vault located on a military base near Zeist, Netherlands. A similar amount of gold was then transferred from this Dutch vault to London.
The remaining portion of the relocation was executed by selling about 59 metric tons of gold in New York and using the proceeds to acquire gold in London. The DNB stated that gold held at the Bank of England meets modern international trade standards and is considered the most easily tradable globally. This accessibility is crucial for DNB in a potential crisis situation, as gold reserves in New York and Ottawa are not as readily available.