Central banks are prioritizing the secure custody of gold reserves, moving beyond questions of accumulation to focus on where bullion can be safely stored without sacrificing liquidity.
Historically, gold location was a minor operational detail. Bars were typically held domestically, at the Bank of England, or within the New York Federal Reserve, with little consideration of geographic risk. That calculus has shifted.
Reserve managers are now diversifying gold storage across multiple domestic and overseas locations to reduce dependence on any single jurisdiction. London and New York remain dominant for their ability to mobilize gold through established global bullion markets, swaps, and leasing arrangements. But holding gold in these centers involves a trade-off: exposure to political and legal access risk.
Gold occupies a unique position in the monetary system as one of the few reserve assets not reliant on another entity's promise to pay. It lacks a corporate balance sheet, government coupon obligation, or bank deposit backing. Yet storing these bars abroad introduces jurisdiction risk tied to the vault's location.
Goldman Sachs' latest analysis, authored by Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven, puts this tension squarely in focus. A 2026 World Gold Council survey found that 9 percent of central bank respondents increased domestic storage over the prior year, while 10 percent diversified their overseas storage locations.
Asia is building credible alternative custody infrastructure. Hong Kong is expanding its clearing and storage capabilities. Singapore will begin offering foreign central banks gold-vaulting services through the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Central banks purchased 57 tonnes of gold in June, with approximately 40 tonnes attributable to China. The three-month seasonally adjusted buying pace has accelerated to 100 tonnes per month—significantly above pre-2022 norms.
This acceleration reflects de-dollarization logic. Central banks have bolstered gold reserves since 2020 during persistent global conflict and economic uncertainty, diversifying holdings with physical precious metals to reduce concentration risk across a single reserve currency and financial system.
