German Bank to Relocate $36 Billion Worth of Gold Back its Own Vaults By 2020

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Germany's central bank is set to bring back 700 tons of gold worth $36 billion stashed in United States and France.

The 700 tons of gold constitutes around 19 percent of Germany's gold reserves include 70,000 gold bars.

Deutsche Bundesbank plans to store half of Germany's gold reserves in its own vaults in Germany by 2020. The other half will remain with its partner banks in New York and London.

The bank intends to shift 300 tons of gold from New York as well as 374 tons from Paris to Frankfurt by 2020. As a result, Frankfurt will contain half of Germany's 3,400 tons of gold by 2020.

"Now, the political security situation has changed because the East-West conflict is over," Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele told RT. "Considerations to store the gold as far west and as far from the Iron Curtain as possible had to be reconsidered."

Thiele said that gold was an important resource to create confidence in the currency and in the economic power Germany. With this move, the bank aims to strengthen its trust and confidence at local level and build its ability to exchange gold for foreign currencies within a short pace of time.

December 2012

December 2020

Frankfurt an Main

31 percent

50 percent

New York

45 percent

37 percent

London

13 percent

13 percent

Paris

11 percent

0 percent

Germany's 3,400 tons of reserve gold is currently valued at $183 billion (270,000 gold bars), which is right behind the U.S.

Only a third of Germany's of gold, valued at almost $174 billion are currently stored in Frankfurt. Bundesbank decision of relocating the gold was spurred after Germany's independent Federal Auditors' Office last year, expressed discontent over its gold reserves abroad.

Bank officials refused to talk about the logistics they have taken to safely transfer the gold.

"For security reasons we can't discuss that, partly to protect the gold, partly to protect the staff that will be carrying out the transfer," spokesman Moritz August Raasch told the Times Free Press.

Raasch said that they carry abundant experience required to transport such large sums of money. Bundesbank, brought home about 850 tons of gold from London between 1998 and 2001.

German's stored most of its gold abroad to prevent them falling into the hands of Soviet Union, during the Cold War.

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