German unrest about national gold bars in the US. ‘It’s our money, it must be reduced’

Deep tucked away under the granite floors of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York is no less than 113 billion euros in German gold in the vaults of the US Central Bank (the FED). With a weight of 1,236 tons, more than a third of the total German gold stock of 3,352 tons, it is one of the largest foreign gold reserves in America.

But now that the political and economic mercury is increasing by Donald Trump, who causes enormous economic and financial uncertainties worldwide, unrest about the national gold bars is starting in Germany. That is why the German interest group requested taxpayers, Bund der Steuerzahlerlast Friday the government to get the gold that Germany has stored from the vaults in New York. « Trump wants to have control over the FED, which could mean that the German gold reserves are checked in the United States, » said Michael Jäger, the vice-president of the interest group. « It is our money, it must be reduced, » was their request.

The fact that foreign gold is in American safes has hardly been a subject of discussion for decades. Although the value of money has not been linked to gold for decades, the storage of gold in the US was a logical choice for foreign powers. Since the Second World War, the United States has been seen as a political and financially stable and safe country, making it attractive to store the gold supply there.

Creative ideas

A new topic of discussion is the question of how independent the Fed is. The independent position of US central banks is a pillar for financial stability worldwide. Hoewelfed boss Jerome Powell is not yet bending for the whims of Trump, the American president is constantly speaking about him. For example, Trump Powell called a ‘huge loser’, Trump requires that Powell lowers the interest and threatened to fire him. Because the US is no longer a natural ally, the import duties of Trump and the precarious status of the FED, the question arises whether foreign money is still safe in America.

It is therefore that the conservative-right interest group is concerned about the 113 billion euros in German gold bars and gold coins in the US central bank. For example, the vice-chairman believes that Germany should not sit still. « Especially at a time when Berlin and Brussels discuss huge new debts, we need immediate access to all gold reserves in emergencies, » said Jäger at the end of March.

The interest group for taxpayers is not the only one with this question. MEPs Ferber from Government Party CDU also wants to get the gold from New York. According to Ferber, the United States is no longer a reliable partner: « Trump is erratic and no one can rule out one day with creative ideas for the foreign gold stocks. The gold policy of the Bundesbank must reflect this new geopolitical reality. » Although the interest group requests the German Ministry of Finance to remove the German gold from the US Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, sees no disaster in the storage of gold in Trumps America.

De Nederlandsche Bank sees no reason to care about Dutch gold in New York

For example, the president of the Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, does not sleep any less. « We have a reliable partner in New York for the storage of our gold stock. I have full confidence in our colleagues from the US Central Bank, » Nagel said at a press conference last February.

The Dutch Bank (DNB) does not think so. The Dutch Central Bank stores the 612 tons of Dutch gold in different places. Almost a third is in the US central bank in New York.

To the question of NRC Whether the Netherlands should consider getting the gold from the United States, says DNB spokesperson Ezra Malko that there is no reason to be worried. For example, he says that for the slightly more than 180 tons of Dutch gold in New York ‘with the central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, good agreements have been made about the storage and security of our gold. As a central bank, we are constantly monitoring the developments around the gold stock and there is no reason to have doubting with the European Central Banks. ”

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