Gold continues to be predominately managed separately by survey respondents, while Good Delivery Bars are the preferred option when buying and holding physical gold. And the Bank of England continues to be the favoured gold storage location, but the use of domestic storage is rising.
Technical and Operational Considerations of Reserves Management
17 June, 2025
Among survey respondents, 75% manage gold separately from their other reserve assets, an increase from 67% last year (Q18). There was a slight decrease – from 23% last year to 17% this year – in respondents who manage gold in the investment tranche. When it comes to why they manage gold separately (Q19), gold as a strategic asset was the top response, with 63% of respondents selecting this as a reason for separate management. Advanced economy respondents unanimously selected ‘It is a historical legacy asset’ as a relevant reason, compared to around half of the EMDE respondents. Gold’s different accounting regimes compared to other asset classes was another instance where respondents from advanced economies and EMDE were completely aligned, with 9% choosing this option; this is a decrease from the previous year (13%).
London Good Delivery Bars continue to dominate central bankers’ purchase of physical gold, with 56% of all respondents picking this option. When examining the results based on EMDE and advanced economy respondents, 63% of EMDE respondents said “Good Delivery bars” were their route to purchase physical gold, while 31% of advanced economy respondents agreed. EMDE respondents also bought gold doré and kilo bars, although these were much less popular options. This could represent how gold is purchased through domestic (LSM or ASGM) gold buying programmes, which are in place in some emerging market countries.1 Similarly, London Good Delivery bars also remain the primary way in which central banks hold gold, with 88% selecting this option. Respondents in EMDE and advanced economy groups showed a similar preference.
This year, 22% of respondents have considered upgrading gold holdings that do not conform to Good Delivery standards, a slight increase compared to 19% in last year’s survey. Among central banks from countries with gold production, when asked about considerations to establish a domestic gold purchase programme, 56% of EMDE central bankers told us that one is already in place, while 12% of EMDE respondents indicated they were considering establishing such a programme. 14 of the central banks with existing domestic buying programmes stated that they refined their gold at an LBMA Good Delivery List refinery, an increase from 11 the previous year. An equal number of central banks (10) indicated that they pay the spot international gold price for their gold. In contrast, nine central banks pay a discount to the international gold price.
The Bank of England continues to be the most popular location for vaulting (64%), an increase from the previous year (55%). But the results also show an interesting shift, where 59% of central bankers picked “domestic storage” for where they currently vault at least part of their gold reserves, compared to just 41% who chose the same option last year. It should be noted that only 8% of respondents chose "prefer not to respond", down significantly from 28% last year. This may have led to increases in responses in the other options. When asked if their custody arrangements have changed over the past 12 months, 83% of respondents indicated “no change”. Although a small percentage, we see a slight resurgence of “diversified overseas storage locations” as an option picked by a handful of central banks. Until this year’s survey, this option had not been selected since 2022. Looking forward to the next 12 months, most respondents said they had no plans to change their custodial arrangements, although 7% indicated they would increase their domestic storage; slightly more than the previous year (2%).
When asked if central banks actively manage their gold reserves, 44% of respondents answered positively – a record high since we first commenced our central bank survey in 2018. We also asked about their reasons for actively managing their gold reserves: 85% of all respondents indicated “enhancing returns”, while 22% selected “risk management”. The latter has increased from 14% in 2024 to 22% in 2025, while “tactical trading” has seen a similar-sized decline in responses year-on-year.
