Dutch central bank mulls moving its $7.7bn gold reserve out of Amsterdam
Mining.com - Feb 24, 2016
The Dutch Central Bank is considering relocating its gold reserves, worth about $7.7 billion (€7bn) from Amsterdam to a different location.
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said in a statement (in Dutch) that the main reason for looking for alternative storage is that the Frederiksplein headquarters, built in the sixties, is being renovated.
"The new location would need to provide high levels of security for both employees and visitors"
DNB said that while the idea of moving its reserves outside of the city seems logic, there are high security standards the location, employees and visitors would need to fulfill. Some of the security measures include scanners, passport controls and armed guards.
According to the latest IMF data, the Netherlands has 612.5 tonnes of gold, representing about 54.6% of its total foreign reserves. Those reserves are spread around the world with 31% held in Amsterdam, 31% held in New York, 20% in Ottawa and 18% in London.
