The Dutch central bank just moved a chunk of the Netherlands’ gold reserves out of North America and into the UK, in a bid to strengthen its crisis preparedness in a time of “increasing geopolitical unrest”.
In a press release, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, or the Dutch central bank) confirmed that the move happened between March and August 2026.
Approximately 86 tonnes of its 313-tonne reserve left vaults in New York and Ottawa, landing in London, at the Bank of England.
Why London? (And why now?)
Part of it, DNB writes, has to do with the Bank of England being “viewed globally as a major trading centre for physical gold”.
Gold stored there meets “modern international trading standards”, offering DNB a quick and easy option to trade gold reserves in a crisis. The gold parked in New York and Ottawa, on the other hand, isn’t as easy to shift in a crisis.
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By keeping more of the Netherlands’ stash in London, DNB notes that it has strengthened Dutch gold as a “confidence anchor”. In other words, gold can weather an economic storm a lot better than stocks or bonds can, and the Netherlands wants its reserves closer to home.
“We assume that we will never need to deploy the gold,” says DNB President Olaf Sleijpen. “But it is nevertheless necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness.”
Dutch reserves haven’t shrunk
As reported by DNB, the size of the Netherlands’ gold stock remains “unchanged”. Some gold, however, did change hands to facilitate the move.
By selling nearly 59 tonnes of gold in New York, DNB was able to buy gold “meeting international trading standards” in London.
Over 27 tonnes of gold were physically moved from the United States and Canada to DNB’s own vault in Zeist, a town in the province of Utrecht. The same quantity of gold, also meeting those market standards, was then moved to London.
Following the relocation, the percentage of Dutch gold reserves in the US shrunk from 31.3% to 18.5%, while the percentage in the UK shot from 18.1% to 32.1%.
Just crisis preparedness
If you’re somewhat alarmed by the proceedings, DNB stresses not to worry. Central banks spreading their gold reserves across several countries is standard practice, and the Netherlands is no different.
DNB frames the whole exercise as useful, especially if “that gold needs to be moved again during a future crisis and one of the methods proves impossible for whatever reason”.
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