The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has significantly reduced the amount of gold it keeps in New York and is sending much of its reserves to London in a bid to strengthen crisis preparedness in a world of ever more geopolitical uncertainty.
DNB moved 86 tonnes of gold from the United States and Canada to London over the period of March to August 2026. Almost 78.4 tonnes of Dutch gold was no longer stored in New York, according to data reported on the operation.
It has attracted international attention because it comes at a time when global geopolitical tension is high, and governments and central banks are debating the security and accessibility of foreign reserves.
But DNB has not said that it expects the United States to take Dutch gold. The central bank has publicly described the relocation as part of its efforts to enhance crisis readiness, risk diversification, liquidity and tradability.
According to DNB, gold stored in London can be traded more easily and deployed more quickly during a crisis than gold stored in New York or Ottawa. And London is one of the world’s most important centres for physical gold trading, so it is a strategic location for reserves that could be mobilised quickly.
The change has changed the distribution of Dutch gold reserves. And before the move, roughly 31.3% of the Netherlands' gold was in New York and another 19.7% in Ottawa. The shares in New York and Ottawa fell to 18.5% each after the operation.
At the same time, London’s share increased from 18.1% to 32.1%, making the UK capital the largest site of Dutch gold reserves. About 30.8% of Dutch gold remains at DNB’s Zeist plant in the Netherlands.
DNB’s total gold reserves are around 612.4 tonnes, or about €72.2 billion at the end of 2025. The central bank said the amount of gold held by the Netherlands has not changed because of the move.
Interestingly, the transfer did not involve just loading every gold bar onto trucks or aircraft and transporting it directly to London. DNB said about 59 tonnes were sold in New York and an equivalent quantity in London. So, the bars were not physically transported and re-sold and could be remelted.
More than 27 tonnes of gold was physically transported from the United States and Canada to DNB’s Zeist facility, and a similar amount was then transferred from Zeist to London. DNB said combining purchases, sales and physical transportation helped spread the risks associated with moving such a large quantity of precious metal.
The decision is remarkable because central banks have been increasingly focused on gold as a reserve asset because they have become increasingly hungry for gold in recent years. Gold has no issuer credit risk and can serve as a safe store of value in times of financial or geopolitical stress and therefore can be used as a financial or geopolitical reserve asset at times of stress to the economy.
DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said the central bank never expects to need to use the gold in a crisis, but resilience and preparedness are essential.
So the move should not be seen as a vote of no confidence in the United States. In fact, DNB itself framed the move around diversifying storage locations and better access to the gold market.
But the timing is key. Relations between the United States and several European countries have become more uncertain with changes in American foreign, trade and security policies. That environment has also encouraged a re-thinking of how European institutions manage strategic assets held outside their territories and possessions.
For global gold markets, the Dutch move is another reminder that central banks are treating the physical location of their reserves as an important part of risk management. London has deep liquidity and established infrastructure in place for trading and lending gold, and keeping reserves in multiple countries can reduce concentration risk.
The broader message is clear: The Netherlands is not leaving gold; it is changing where part of its gold is stored so the reserves can be accessed and traded more easily if circumstances deteriorate.
Other central banks might also want to look at the location and accessibility of their reserves given the current situation of geopolitical tensions. A broader shift away from concentrated holdings in one country might have implications for gold markets, central-bank reserve management and investors' perception of geopolitical risk.
DNB's move would seem more to be a major reshuffle of Dutch gold holdings rather than a loss of overall gold reserves for the nation. The Netherlands still has 600 tonnes of gold in the system, but much more of it is now in London, where DNB thinks it is more readily tradable and deployable during the crisis.
