Austrian Central Bank Addresses Gold Repatriation legacy.kitco.com
More and more European central banks seem to be convinced that hauling back its gold is the best strategy, and Kitco News speaks with Peter Mooslechner, executive director of the Österreichische Nationalbank, at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) conference in Vienna, to get his take on the matter. According to the central banker, Austria asked to get its gold back as part of a general court order in the country, looking to ship back around £3.5 billion worth of gold from the Bank of England over the next five years. According to Mooslechner, the general counsel thought that the concentration of gold holdings at the Bank of England is a little bit too high and wanted the central bank to reduce concentration risk there. ‘We decided to go a little bit more in the direction of diversification, so we will bring a bit back to Austria - in fact, in the end, 50% of our gold holdings should be kept in Austria,’ he explained. Mooslechner noted that the role of gold for central bankers has shifted, especially for smaller ones in the euro zone. ‘It was of big importance during the period of the Brenton Woods system…but it has now become part of a much greater monetary and economic area,’ he noted. ‘It has transformed into something like the basic part of reserves to be held as a liquidity buffer or for security reasons, but not so much as an active part of management of gold reserves anymore,’ he added. Mooslechner also commented on the economic situation in Europe, stating that he is optimistic on the recovery despite low inflation in the region. ‘I personally think that we are still on track.’ Kitco News, October 20, 2015. |
