In a strategic shift tailored to growing global political uncertainty, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Netherlands’ central financial authority, announced Wednesday it has completed a large-scale relocation of billions of dollars in gold reserves out of North America, framing the move as a proactive step to boost crisis preparedness.
Between March and August 2025, 86 metric tons of gold were reallocated from storage facilities in New York and Ottawa, where the bank held a combined 313 metric tons of its total holdings. Prior to the operation, New York held 31.3% of DNB’s total gold reserves, while Canada’s capital held an additional 19.7%. Following the restructuring, both North American locations now hold just 18.5% of the bank’s total gold stockpile each, DNB confirmed.
As of the end of 2025, DNB holds a total of 612.4 metric tons of gold, valued at approximately 72.2 billion euros ($83.6 billion).
DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen explained in an official written statement that the geographic restructuring is designed to improve the tradability of the institution’s gold reserves. “We expect that we will never need to draw on these emergency reserves, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness to navigate unexpected global shocks,” Sleijpen said.
The relocation unfolded in three distinct phases, per DNB’s breakdown. Roughly 27 metric tons of gold were physically moved from North American vaults directly to the central bank’s heavily secured storage facility on a military base near Zeist, a town in central Netherlands. The bank declined to share additional details about the cross-Atlantic transportation process for the physical bullion. From the Zeist base, an equal volume of gold was then shifted to storage in London.
The remaining portion of the reallocation was completed through financial transactions: DNB sold roughly 59 metric tons of its gold held in New York, then used the proceeds to purchase equivalent gold positioned in London.
DNB noted that gold stored at the Bank of England meets strict modern international trade requirements, and is widely considered the most easily tradable gold in the global market. This positioning makes it far more accessible for the Dutch central bank to deploy quickly in the event of a major systemic or geopolitical crisis. By contrast, gold held in New York and Ottawa cannot be accessed or utilized as rapidly or directly when urgent action is needed, the bank added.