Europe sent its gold to the U.S. for safe keeping during World War II. Central banks are now reshuffling their reserves for a new era of uncertainty
Source: Fortune ·
"Central banks are increasingly optimizing across three considerations: custody risk, physical accessibility and market liquidity."
From the source
Last month’s announcement from the Dutch central bank that it was moving gold from North America to Europe added to the trend of a global redistribution of reserves. The New York Fed has long served as the custodian of the gold on behalf the U.S. government, foreign governments, other central banks, and official international organizations. Much of it arrived during and after World War II as countries sought to keep their gold reserves in a safe location. The stockpile reached a high in the early 1970s but began a gradual slide after the U.S. took the dollar off the gold standard and is now about half of its peak. U.S. custodianship continues to decline. France removed all of its gold from the New York Fed between July 2025 and January 2026. Then the Dutch central bank, known as the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), moved more than 78 tons of gold in New York and seven tons in Canada to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest” and the need to improve its “crisis preparedness.” The…