De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has moved about 86 tonnes of gold from North America to London between March and August 2026, to strengthen its crisis preparedness and move the metal to a closer and more geopolitically secure financial hub. 

The bank’s move increased London’s share of its reserves to 32.1% from 18.1%. Holdings in New York and Ottawa each fell to 18.5%, while the share stored in Zeist, Netherlands, remained at 30.8%. 

“With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said   

The DNB said it had 612.4 tonnes of gold, worth €72.2 billion ($80.7 billion) at year-end 2025. Before the relocation, about 313 tonnes were stored in the US and Canada as part of the bank’s strategy of spreading reserves among several locations. 

Why move? 

Gold that is held in the Bank of England must meet modern international trade standards, making it the world’s most easily tradable gold, DNB said. If the gold was all located in North America, DNB wouldn’t be able to get access to it as quickly or directly as it can in London. 

“For the Netherlands, moving gold to London makes its reserves more readily tradable and available in a crisis, and the same applies for the rest of Europe,” Rick Kanda, Managing Director at The Gold Bullion Company, said in a statement. “If countries want to sell gold fast in a crisis, London is the place to be, making the Bank of England a popular place to store gold. In fact, the Bank of England is one of the largest custodians of gold in the world, holding 400,000 bars worth more than £200bn.” 

DNB combined selling and physically transporting gold to make this move possible. It first sold about 59 tonnes of gold in New York and then bought the same amount in London. 

Another 27 tonnes were physically transported from Ottawa and New York to Zeist under tight security, including armoured guards and GPS trackers, CBC reported. 

A similar quantity of gold that meets the international market standards was transferred from Zeist to London, preventing the need to remelt gold bars. The total size of the gold reserves has remained the same, DNB said. 

“When central banks physically hold their own gold, they gain a degree of independence and security, especially in times of geopolitical and financial uncertainty,” Kanda said.  

Before relocation, DNB had 30.8% of its gold in Zeist, 18.1% in London, 31.3% in New York, and 19.7% in Ottawa. 

Not the first, or last 

The Dutch bank’s repositioning comes as other central banks reconsider where they store reserves amid heightened geopolitical and financial risks. 

“Other countries, including European central banks, are increasingly diversifying where reserves are stored. Trade and military wars have been prompting countries to take precautions and hold their gold closer to home, with geopolitical risk, accessibility and crisis preparedness all playing a part,” Kanda said. 

The French central bank relocated 129 metric tons of gold held at the New York Federal Reserve between July 2025 and January 2026, CNBC reported.  

The trend does not necessarily signal that individual investors should move their own bullion, Kanda said. Instead, it highlights the importance of considering access and diversification alongside the assets themselves. 

“I think this shift should remind us that ownership and access to assets can matter as much as the asset itself, and it raises an important question about wealth diversification,” he said.