AMSTERDAM (Realist English). De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) — the central bank of the Netherlands — announced on September 2 that it had completed a large‑scale operation to relocate the country’s gold reserves.
Over six months — from March to August 2026 — 86 tonnes of precious metal were transferred from the United States and Canada to the United Kingdom, accounting for about a quarter of all reserves previously held in North America.
Estimated to be worth approximately €10 billion ($12 billion), the operation represents the largest relocation of Dutch gold reserves in decades and signals growing unease among European central banks about the reliability of assets stored overseas.
How the Gold Was Moved: Sales, Purchases and Physical Transport
The operation was conducted through a combination of methods to reduce risks and avoid remelting the bars.
| Method | Volume | Mechanism |
| Market operations | ~59 tonnes | Sale of gold in New York and simultaneous purchase of equivalent volume in London |
| Physical transfer | ~27 tonnes | Transport of bars from New York and Ottawa to the DNB vault in Zeist (Netherlands) |
| Secondary transfer | ~27 tonnes | Movement of equivalent volume of gold from Zeist to London |
“The combination of buying and selling processes and physical transport allowed DNB to distribute the risks associated with such a complex gold relocation,” the central bank explained.
The New Geography of Dutch Gold Reserves
At the end of 2025, the Netherlands’ total gold stock stood at 612.4 tonnes, worth €72.2 billion ($83.6 billion). Following the operation, the storage structure of the reserves changed dramatically:
| Storage Location | Share Before | Share After | Change |
| London | 18.1% | 32.1% | +14 p.p. |
| Zeist (Netherlands) | ~31% | 30.8% | ~0 |
| New York | 31.3% | 18.5% | -12.8 p.p. |
| Ottawa | 19.7% | 18.5% | -1.2 p.p. |
Source: DNB
The share of gold stored in North America fell from 51% to 37%. London — the world’s largest centre for physical gold trading — has become the main storage hub for Dutch reserves.
Motives: From Geopolitics to Liquidity
The official reason given by DNB is “rising geopolitical instability” and the need to “strengthen resilience and crisis preparedness.” DNB President Olaf Sleijpen stated: “We assume we will never have to use this gold, but we need to strengthen our resilience and readiness.”
Behind this wording, however, lie more specific concerns:
1. Crisis accessibility. Gold stored at the Bank of England “is considered the most easily tradable gold in the world” and can be deployed faster than reserves in the US or Canada. In a crisis, gold in New York and Ottawa “cannot be used as quickly and directly.”
2. US‑Canada trade war. The relocation coincided with an escalation in the trade conflict between Washington and Ottawa — both countries imposed new tariffs after negotiations collapsed.
3. Fear of payment blocking. As local media have noted, since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, DNB has repeatedly expressed concern over rising tensions between Europe and the US, stating that “the United States could easily block the Netherlands’ payment transactions” and calling for reduced dependence on America.
A Precedent or the Start of a Trend?
Experts warn that the Netherlands’ decision could set a precedent. Laurent Schwartz, president of France’s National Gold Accounting Office, noted that central banks have been moving their reserves for about ten years, and “the current political context in the US could push some central banks to choose alternative storage locations.”
However, Cite Gestion Private Bank analyst John Plassard called the move “fairly one‑off,” but warned that if other central banks follow the Netherlands’ example, it could damage confidence in the US.
Notably, the Bundesbank, despite concerns raised in Germany earlier this year about the security of reserves in New York, has so far decided not to withdraw its gold from the US.
A Dutch Signal Against a Wobbly Dollar
The relocation of 86 tonnes of gold from North America to London is more than a logistical operation. It is a signal: one of Europe’s key central banks has questioned the reliability of storing its reserves in the United States.
Open questions remain. Will other European central banks follow the Netherlands’ example, or will this move remain a one‑off? Does London’s growing share of Dutch gold reserves mark the beginning of a new redistribution of global gold holdings in favour of the UK? And most importantly — does this decision suggest that European elites are seriously considering a scenario in which the United States could use the dollar and its financial infrastructure as a weapon against its own allies?
The answers to these questions will be determined not in Amsterdam, but in Washington — and by how long the ongoing geopolitical instability will push other gold custodians to rethink their calculations. For now, the Netherlands has made its choice: its gold is now where it can be sold fastest.
