Disclosures in the monthly statements of account published by the Bank for International Settlements since March 2016 indicate that in the last nine months of 2016 the bank increased substantially its use of gold swaps.
There is not enough information in the monthly reports to calculate the exact amount of swaps, but based on the information in the BIS’ December 2016 statement of account, the bank’s gold swaps likely stood in excess of 480 tonnes as of the end of the calendar year.
This is the BIS’ highest level of gold swaps recorded in recent times.
The BIS’ annual report for its financial year ended March 31, 2010, disclosed that 346 tonnes of gold were acquired through gold swaps from commercial bullion banks. A review of the previous use of gold derivatives by the BIS reveals that the transactions in 2009-10 were far more substantial than anything done by the bank in the years immediately leading up to that.
The BIS offers no explanation for its renewed use of gold swaps in its interim financial statements for the 2016-17 financial year, which were published on November 7, 2016. By contrast, back in 2010 the BIS discussed its gold swaps with the Financial Times in an article published on July 29 that year. BIS General Manager Jaime Caruana said the gold swaps were “regular commercial activities” for the bank.
This post was published at GATA
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