Dutch and French Central Banks Pull Gold Reserves From New York

Global central banks are increasingly repatriating their bullion reserves away from U.S. custodians, driven by rising geopolitical tensions and a push toward decentralized reserve storage.

"A more balanced distribution of these reserves between North America, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands helps to spread risks and will make them more readily available for use in a crisis situation," De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said in a statement.

The Dutch Central Bank recently moved 86 tons of its gold reserves out of New York and Canada to London, citing growing geopolitical unrest. This follows similar actions by the Banque de France, which sold 129 tons of gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between July 2025 and January 2026, using the proceeds to buy replacement gold stored directly in Paris.

These cross-border shifts highlight a broader reassessment among European monetary authorities regarding traditional safe-haven infrastructure. As nations reevaluate counterparty risks and trade liquidity, the concentration of sovereign gold reserves in Western vaults like the New York Fed faces mounting scrutiny.

How Reserves Are Now Distributed

Following its latest reallocation, the Dutch Central Bank maintains 18.5 percent of its gold reserves in North America across New York and Ottawa. The remainder of its holdings are distributed more locally, with 32.1 percent stored in London and 30.8 percent held domestically within the Netherlands.

Market analysts note that London's dominance as a financial hub plays a major operational role in these transfers. Moving bullion closer to major trading desks enhances accessibility during periods of market stress.

"London is the unparalleled centre for gold storage and trading, offering the world’s deepest, most liquid bullion market. The DNB’s headline makes that plain, by stressing that the move is about improving ‘liquidity and tradability’," said Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault.

Implications for U.S. Financial Infrastructure

The coordinated movement of physical bullion away from New York coincides with broader debates over foreign confidence in U.S.-hosted financial assets. Market strategists point out that the shifts reflect a general desire among foreign institutions to mitigate long-term systemic vulnerabilities.

"One reason U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was reported to have intervened in the support of the yen in the past was the desire to prevent Japanese investors rushing for the exit of the U.S. Treasury bond market. While this was going on, the central bank of the Netherlands was apparently rushing to the exit of the New York Federal Reserve with as much gold as it could carry stuffed into its pockets," remarked UBS's Paul Donovan.