An alarm has sounded across global gold markets, as an increasing number of central banks reconsider where and how they store their precious reserves while playing out a potential war scenario. The decision by the Netherlands to transfer 86 tonnes of gold from New York and Ottawa to London, citing growing geopolitical instability, reinforces questions regarding the security of reserves held within the US. Against this new backdrop, attention turns to Greece: how much gold does the country hold, where is it stored, and what would a similar reserve reallocation mean for the nation? Specifically, the Dutch central bank decided to drastically reduce the share of its gold reserves kept in New York, transferring a portion previously held in North America directly to London. Between March and August, De Nederlandsche Bank reallocated approximately 86 tonnes of gold: its reserve share in New York dropped from 31.3% to 18.5% of the total, while its holdings in London increased from 18.1% to 32.1%.
As explained by the Dutch central bank, the move stems from rising geopolitical instability, the necessity for improved risk diversification, and the ability to deploy reserves more rapidly during a crisis. Amsterdam did not simply repatriate the precious metals to its home territory. Approximately 59 tonnes of gold were sold in New York and repurchased in London. More than 27 tonnes were physically transported from the United States and Canada to Zeist, while an equivalent quantity of gold already meeting international standards was moved from Zeist to London. Overall Dutch reserves remained unchanged at 612.4 tonnes. However, their geographic distribution shifted significantly. And this is perhaps the single most critical detail of the entire operation. The Netherlands does not claim that gold is only secure when stored within its own borders. It determined that its exposure to North America was overly concentrated and that increasing allocations to London—the world's largest physical gold trading hub—presented a superior alternative. For a central bank, security encompasses far more than physical location; it requires spreading liquid precious assets across distinct jurisdictions, custodians, and active financial markets.
France exits New York, Germany maintains holdings
The Netherlands is hardly the sole nation adjusting the geographic distribution of its strategic holdings. In 2025, the Bank of France sold its final 129 tonnes of gold stored in New York—representing roughly 5% of its total reserves—and acquired an equivalent amount within Europe. Total French gold holdings remained unchanged at 2,437 tonnes. The official reason cited was largely technical: older American gold bars failed to meet the modern quality standards adopted by Paris. France consequently preferred to sell the bars locally rather than incur the substantial logistics costs of shipping and refining operations. The geographical outcome remains the same: France no longer maintains this segment of its reserves in New York. Germany chose a different path. In 2013, the Bundesbank initiated the transfer of 300 tonnes of gold from New York and 374 tonnes from Paris to Frankfurt, completing the process in 2017. This move did not signal a complete exit from the United States. At the end of 2025, Germany still maintained 1,236 tonnes of gold at the New York Fed, accounting for nearly 37% of its total national reserves, while another 1,710 tonnes resided in Frankfurt and 404 tonnes in London.
Italy considers similar moves
Following these developments, Italy is also contemplating similar strategic adjustments. The Bank of Italy maintains 1,061.5 tonnes of gold in the United States, representing 43.29% of its total national reserves. This quantity is slightly smaller than the approximately 1,100 tonnes stored domestically in Italy, yet substantially larger than the 149.3 tonnes held in Switzerland and the 141.2 tonnes located in the United Kingdom. In total, Italian gold reserves stand at approximately 2,452 tonnes. Based on officially reported figures, this represents the third-largest national gold holdings in the world, trailing only the United States and Germany. However, this ranking must be viewed with a degree of caution. China reported holding 2,366 tonnes of gold at the end of July, though undisclosed sovereign purchases remain a major factor in the physical market. Indeed, several analysts estimate that actual Chinese holdings may be considerably higher than officially declared figures. Never before have these physical reserves carried such a profound economic impact. At the end of 2025, the total valuation of the Bank of Italy's gold reserves reached 289.2 billion euros, up from 197.9 billion euros twelve months prior. Since then, global gold prices have continued their upward trajectory.
The vast majority of Italian gold held abroad resides at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, situated in the heart of Manhattan. The subterranean vault is carved directly into the bedrock beneath the island, roughly 24 meters below street level. At the end of 2024, it housed approximately 507,000 gold bars, totaling 6,331 tonnes. These reserves belong to various foreign governments, central banks, and international institutions. The famous Fort Knox facility in Kentucky primarily houses the domestic holdings of the US Department of the Treasury. In New York, the Fed functions strictly as a custodian: the metal does not become American property simply by virtue of its physical presence on domestic soil. Every bar is weighed and verified for purity and origin; upon withdrawal, the Fed returns to the account holder the exact same allocated bars originally deposited.
Why are such vast gold reserves held abroad?
The presence of significant reserve portions abroad is largely explained by historical precedent. Distributing bullion across multiple countries aids portfolio diversification and mitigates systemic geopolitical risks. Simultaneously, keeping a portion of physical holdings within major international financial hubs facilitates rapid deployment, eliminating the time and exorbitant logistics costs required to transport heavy bullion during emergencies. This is precisely where the recent Dutch maneuver becomes particularly intriguing. Moving 86 tonnes of gold from New York to London demonstrates that central monetary authorities are evaluating not merely how much metal they own, but where they choose to store it. In an environment of escalating international friction, the geographic allocation of national reserves is no longer a routine bookkeeping decision. It forms a core component of broader risk management strategies for sovereign institutions.
The status of Greek gold reserves
Regarding Greek holdings, official figures from the Bank of Greece indicate that at the end of 2025, Greece held approximately 152.4 tonnes of gold reserves and gold claims, compared to 152.2 tonnes at the end of 2024. Their total valuation as of December 31, 2025, stood at approximately 18 billion euros. However, a key distinction exists: the 152.4 tonnes do not consist entirely of physical gold bullion held inside a Greek vault. The Bank of Greece accounts for these assets jointly: roughly 114.6 tonnes of internationally accepted gold bars and gold sovereigns, approximately 30.6 tonnes of gold corresponding to Greece's quota participation in the IMF, and around 7.1 tonnes of non-international standard gold coins and bullion. Naturally, not all Greek gold resides domestically; the Bank of Greece explicitly states that a portion of its reserves is held at foreign central banks.
In fact, historical records from the Bank of Greece confirm that, following established national practice, reserves were distributed across several jurisdictions. An older breakdown recorded 47% in Greece, 29% in the US, 20% in the United Kingdom, and 4% in Switzerland. Greek gold has endured a dramatic history over the decades. In 1941, shortly before the occupation of Greece by German forces, the leadership of the Bank of Greece executed a secret operation to evacuate the nation's gold reserves. The holdings were transported first to Crete, then to Egypt, and ultimately to Pretoria, South Africa. Following the war, the reserves returned to Greece via London and were subsequently reallocated across international custodial institutions. Ever since, a cloud of mystery has surrounded the exact distribution. One thing is certain: the Bank of Greece, blissfully asleep, is not running any defensive scenarios.
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