Gold
Austria to repatriate third of gold reserves
Central bank plans to move gold out of the UK and into Austria and Switzerland after court of audit raises concern over ‘high concentration risk’
Lithuania bought 1.6 tonnes of gold as part of euro switch
Purchases representing around 25% of total gold holdings made during switch to euro; Bank of Lithuania investment director tells Central Banking investments are now more diverse
Swiss public reject gold initiative
Referendum sees 77.3% of vote against forcing the SNB to hold 20% of its assets in gold, and prevent it from ever selling them; central bank welcomes the result
Netherlands Bank moves 122.5 tonnes of gold from New York to Amsterdam
Central bank will now keep 31% of its gold reserves in own country; move was designed to create a more even distribution of its reserves across the globe
SNB speaks out against 'gold initiative'
Swiss National Bank rejects proposals to prevent it from selling gold; Jean-Pierre Danthine argues that ‘currency reserves that cannot be sold are not truly reserves’
Central Bank of Ecuador deposits half its gold with Goldman Sachs
Three-year deal sees the bank swap half-a-million ounces of bullion for ‘high security instruments and liquidity', ostensibly to cover government's widening fiscal deficit
European central banks strike new gold agreement
Central banks in the eurozone, Sweden and Switzerland agree to coordinate their gold transactions, but scrap the 400-tonne limit on annual sales
Swiss upper house rejects initiative that would force SNB to double gold holdings
Proposal that would require central bank to hold at least 20% of total assets in gold is slated for referendum but political establishment is strongly opposed