Showing posts with label Swiss Gold Referendum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swiss Gold Referendum. Show all posts

29 November 2014

Switzerland Leads In Gold Sales Among Central Banks Since 1993


Although they are still among the top ten in total gold holdings, Switzerland has been one of the largest sellers of gold among official entities since 1993.
 
It is no surprise then that some of the people of Switzerland have taken to a referendum to provide their opinions on this to the Swiss National Bank.
 
With regard to the second chart, personally I do not believe that the World Gold Council estimates are correct for China at all, and probably Russia.
 


Source: Wikipedia, Gold Reserve

21 November 2014

Dutch Quietly Repatriate 120 Tonnes of Gold From New York


It looks like the Dutch brought back 120 tonnes of their gold from New York while no one was looking.

From the Ukraine, with love?  Perhaps they contributed their 30 tonnes which was last seen headed West on a night flight in April.

Meanwhile Germany obediently waits, for years, and the Swiss dither.

The Wall Street Banks thank you for your patience.   Have a nice day.

Dutch bring 120 tonnes of gold back to Amsterdam from New York
November 21, 2014

The Dutch central bank has secretly brought a large part of the national gold reserves being held in a secure depot in New York back to Amsterdam. In total, 120 tonnes of gold valued at €4bn has been brought back to the Netherlands by ship, Nos television said.

The high security reparations for the move took months. The central bank decided to bring some of its gold reserves back to the Netherlands to ensure a better spread, the bank said in a statement. In addition, the bank hopes to boost consumer confidence by showing there is enough gold in the Netherlands to take the country through a new economic crisis.

Now 31% of the Dutch gold reserves are in Amsterdam, the same percentage as in New York. The rest is in Ottowa and London. The Netherlands has 612 tonnes of gold – worth €19bn at current gold prices, Nos said.




11 November 2014

Yra Harris On Official Swiss Objections To the Gold Referendum


Yra Harris cuts to the heart of the matter in addressing the objections, more like rationales, of the Swiss National Bank to the gold referendum coming before a vote of the Swiss people.

I like it because it more generally addresses some of the objections to gold as a reserve asset.

"In a Bloomberg article from Nov. 5 by Nicholas Larkin and Catherine Bosley, it is noted that the Swiss National Bank is very opposed to the Swiss voters passing the referendum calling on the SNB to retrieve all its gold from foreign depositories and also to be an active buyer to replenish previously sold gold reserves. Larkin and Bosley noted the referendum specifies that at least 20 percent of the SNB‘s total assets be held in gold from a present level of 8 percent.

The problem is magnified by the present policy that is holding the Swiss Franc at a floor of 1.20 to the euro. Since the 1.20 EUR/CHF policy was announced, the SNB‘s assets have expanded by more than one-third as the SNB has intervened in FX markets by selling Swiss francs and buying euros and other foreign currencies. If the SNB wishes to maintain this absurd policy it will have to buy much more gold if the referendum passes.

The SNB is presently selling a hard currency, the Swiss franc, and buying massive amounts of a problem plagued asset, the euro. The Swiss policy of holding the EUR/CHF at 1.20 will be proven a foolish endeavor if the ECB moves to a significant QE program. The Bloomberg article concludes with a concern of the Swiss Government that:
“…. the initiative’s [referendum] ban on gold sales would deprive the SNB of an asset should it find itself in dire straits. Several analysts share that view.” In putting forth more nonsense about the SNB having to purchase gold, Georgette Boele of ABN AMRO in Amsterdam says: “You hold gold in terms of an emergency that you can liquidate if you really need to.”
Let me reiterate the nonsense of this statement: 1. If the SNB had to liquidate in an emergency then gold, in fact, would be the most sought after asset of haven status in the world and its price would be at extremely elevated levels; and 2. You don’t have to sell your gold but rather create an asset-backed security using gold to borrow on a leveraged basis in the very liquid capital markets.

The SNB and Swiss authorities are evidently very nervous about the upcoming referendum because of the effect it will have on the EUR/CHF policy of the SNB. Buying gold would be the best policy for the entire Swiss nation for presently the policy of printing Swiss francs to purchase euros is patently absurd."

Yra Harris, Notes From Underground