Gold
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) manages more than 600 tonnes of gold (EUR 36,8 billion at the end of 2023) as part of its total assets. The gold stock mainly functions as a reserve asset and as an anchor of trust.
Gold: anchor of trust
In the past, coins were made of precious metals such as gold and silver. Nowadays, coins and banknotes are produced from cheap and durable materials. The gold standard was introduced as a measure of value. Coins and banknotes could be exchanged for gold on the basis of this standard. The gold standard has been abandoned, but the gold stock still functions as an anchor of trust.
Where is the gold?
The Dutch gold reserves are kept in various locations in the world. Of the total reserves, 31% is kept in the Netherlands in DNB’s gold vault. Another 31% is located in New York. This gold is stored in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, built on Manhattan’s granite rocks. A further 38% is stored in the vaults of the Bank of Canada, in Ottawa, and the Bank of England, in London.
DNB’s gold vault
DNB’s gold vault holds 14,000 gold bars of 12.5 kilograms each and a thousand crates of gold coins. The total weight of all that gold is 200,000 kilos and it is worth €12 billion (March 2024). The gold vault is located at the DNB Cash Centre, a new facility in a heavily secured military compound near the town of Zeist. DNB’s gold used to be stored deep underground at our headquarters in Amsterdam. In 2019, the Executive Board decided to renovate the headquarters and move the gold and cash to the DNB Cash Centre. From the end of 2020 until May 2023, the gold and cash were temporarily kept in the former Joh. Enschedé building in Haarlem.