Swiss National Bank reveals details of its gold reserves in annual meeting

During the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) annual meeting in Bern, president Thomas Jordan unveiled the locations of where Switzerland’s gold holdings are stored. Jordan disclosed the central bank holds 70 percent of its 1,040 tonnes of gold in Switzerland. The rest is held in England and Canada.

According to Jordan, 20 percent of its gold reserves are stationed in the Bank of England, while 10 percent of its gold holdings are based in the Bank of Canada. This has been ongoing for more than a decade – a large number of central banks around the world have deposited a portion of their gold reserves in other states as a precautionary measure against potential invasion.

The reason why the central bank head is highlighting this important information is to correct the various pieces of “misinformation and misconceptions,” which have been increasing recently, regarding its gold reserves.

“First, adequate regional diversification and good market access for the storage of gold must be ensured,” Jordan said in his prepared parks last week. “Second, the country in which gold is stored must be politically and economically very stable and guarantee the immunity protection of central bank investments.”

Global Gold News reported this month about the signatures gathered in a petition – Save Our Swiss Gold – to require the SNB to hold 20 percent of its assets in gold and prohibit the institution from selling its gold holdings and to keep the entire sum in the country.

Also, Jordan did not rule out the possibility of acquiring more gold in the future.

“As part of a good diversification of currency reserves, a certain proportion of gold can help reduce the balance sheet risk,” explained Jordan. “We have therefore never ruled out the possibility of future gold purchases.”

Jordan confirmed that he disagrees with the initiative, however.

“We share the objectives the initiators put forward, such as maintaining currency and price stability and ensuring both the SNB’s capacity to act and its independence,” explained Jordan. “However, the measures proposed to this effect are not suitable; in fact, they are even counterproductive.”