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Why is so much European gold still sitting in New York
It's a story of war, the dollar, and trust. After World War II, many countries, traumatized by the threat of having their gold reserves confiscated by enemy powers, chose to store their gold in the United States. In this context of reconstruction and instability, storing the precious metal in the ultra-secure vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York seemed like a no-brainer. And quite right too: in 1944, the Bretton Woods agreements established the dollar as the global reserve currency, convertible into gold. The United States, which at the time held most of the world's gold, became the planet's safe deposit box.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Western European countries, such as West Germany, transferred a large portion of their reserves to the United States. The reasons? Political stability, physical security, optimal liquidity on the New York market, but also strategic protection: faced with the Soviet threat, it was better to keep the gold bars away from the Iron Curtain. Storing gold in New York also sent a strong signal of alliance with Washington.
But now, a wind of mistrust is blowing over New York's vaults. In Germany and Italy, calls to repatriate gold reserves stored at the Fed are growing. The argument is no longer purely economic: it is geopolitical. With Trump threatening the independence of the US Federal Reserve and global tensions rising, some consider it risky to leave more than $245bn worth of European gold on the other side of the Atlantic.
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The German case: the highly charged return of Frankfurt's "treasure"
For decades, Germany has stored much of its gold far from its borders. With 3,352 tons, the Bundesbank holds the world's second-largest gold reserve, just behind the United States. However, over a third of this gold is still held in New York, a remnant of a time when the dollar was still pegged to gold and the USSR posed a direct military threat. But since the 2010s, the issue has become explosive.
Under pressure from the German Court of Auditors and an increasingly suspicious public, the Bundesbank launched a partial repatriation plan in 2012: 374 tons stored in Paris—considered strategically obsolete since the end of the gold standard—were repatriated, along with 300 tons from New York. The operation, spread out between 2014 and 2017, went off without a hitch. When it was done, half of Germany's gold reserves were kept in Frankfurt. But that didn't mean that the issue was settled.
In 2025, the story resumes with a vengeance. The potential re-election of Donald Trump reignites geopolitical concerns. In May, the Taxpayers' Association of Europe (TAE) officially called on the Bundesbank and the Ministry of Finance to repatriate the stock still stored in New York, fearing a loss of independence for the Federal Reserve under political pressure from the White House. The message was clear: confidence in America as the guardian of gold was wavering.
CDU/CSU (moderate right) members of the Bundestag and the European Parliament are following suit: in their view, it cannot be ruled out that Washington will one day come up with creative ideas for dealing with foreign gold. Translation: confiscate or block. Even public broadcasters such as ZDF and ARD are now echoing these questions, which were once the preserve of conspiracy theorists and the far right. The debate has become mainstream. For both the populist left and the conservative right, the answer is increasingly clear: it is better to regain physical control of one's reserves in the event of a break with Washington. Today, 37% of Germany's gold remains in New York, but the debate is resurfacing with force, particularly with Trump's seismic policies.
Italy: national gold returns to the heart of the political debate
With 2,452 tons of official reserves, Italy has the third largest gold stock in the world, almost on a par with France. This strategic windfall of around €75bn, managed by the Banca d'Italia, is a legacy of the post-war economic miracle. And like Germany, Rome has stored a significant portion of its gold abroad, particularly in the US. Over 800 tons are believed to still be sitting in the vaults of the Fed in New York—a choice historically motivated by transatlantic financial stability.
But since the emergence of sovereignist parties, the subject has become politically inflammatory. In 2019, when the League and the Five Star Movement dominated the scene, a bill was introduced to assert that the Bank of Italy's gold belonged to the Italian state — a strong symbolic gesture to restore monetary sovereignty, which was considered vague. At the time, fears focused mainly on the possibility of the government selling the reserves to reduce public debt. The debate therefore centered on domestic use, not the physical location of the bullion.
However, the tone changed from 2022 onwards. Geopolitical turmoil, rising tensions with Washington, and the possibility of Trump returning to the White House reignited concerns. In 2025, former MEP Fabio De Masi argued that it was time to repatriate some of the reserves stored across the Atlantic. In the wake of this, the Taxpayers' Association of Europe (TAE), already active on the German issue, sent a letter to the Italian authorities warning of a possible loss of control if Trump decided to influence the Fed. The argument is simple: in the event of a major crisis, it is better for the gold to be on Italian soil.
Michael Jäger, president of the TAE, puts it bluntly: "We are very concerned that Trump could interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve." What is at stake here is not so much the current management of the Fed as the possibility that a future conflict, sanction, or diplomatic break could compromise physical access to the reserves.
France: national gold already in Paris, a legacy of General De Gaulle
France is one of the few major countries that does not have to debate the repatriation of its gold reserves. And for good reason: they are already there. With 2,436 tons of gold, the Banque de France holds the fourth largest stockpile in the world—neck and neck with Italy—and about 91% of these reserves are stored in the heart of Paris, in the famous underground vault of the Banque de France, nicknamed "La Souterraine." There are no storage issues: "La Souterraine" alone, the Banque de France's 10,000-square-meter fortified vault located 25 meters underground in the heart of Paris, could hold all the gold in the world.
This unique situation can be explained by a long-standing strategic choice. In the 1960s, General De Gaulle, a fervent defender of monetary sovereignty, denounced the "exorbitant privilege" of the dollar and ordered the repatriation of part of France's gold reserves stored in the United States, taking advantage of the dollar-gold convertibility of the Bretton Woods system. France then exchanged dollars for physical gold, several hundred tons, which it repatriated. This was more a political gesture than an economic one, but it crystallized De Gaulle's mistrust of the US currency.
After the end of Bretton Woods in 1971, like all countries, France stopped converting gold, but kept most of its reserves on its soil, unlike Germany and Italy. However, some of it — around 9%, or just over 200 tons — remained abroad, mainly at the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. But this was solely for technical liquidity reasons, so that the gold bars could be quickly negotiated or exchanged if necessary.
Unlike Berlin or Rome, France never launched a large-scale repatriation operation in the 2010s. There was no need. The gold is already there. There was no geopolitical uncertainty weighing on the capital, and the Bank of France is considered a reliable, respected institution that is perfectly equipped to secure these strategic assets.
This did not prevent a few political upheavals. In 2014, in the midst of the eurozone crisis and amid growing mistrust of the European Union, Marine Le Pen called for a full audit of France's gold reserves. She also called for the full return of gold bars stored abroad and an end to gold sales, referring to the 500 tons sold between 2004 and 2009 under Nicolas Sarkozy. All this was part of a broader discourse on regaining monetary sovereignty and leaving the euro.
But none of these proposals were accepted. At the time, Christian Noyer, governor of the Bank of France, stated that the reserves were "safe, rigorously accounted for, and already on national territory." The request was rejected.
For more information: Gold hits record highs, central banks accelerate de-dollarization
Since 2009, the price of gold has risen steadily against a backdrop of global crises. It reached $1,000 during the great financial crisis, $2,000 in the midst of the pandemic, $3,000 in early 2025 after the trade escalation between major powers, and $3,500 on April 22, following Donald Trump's verbal attack on the Federal Reserve. As a result, gold has once again established itself as the ultimate safe-haven asset. With a performance of nearly +30% since January, it dominates the financial markets in 2025. According to Goldman Sachs, the price per ounce could reach $4,000 by mid-2026. At this price, a 1 kg bar would be worth $130,000.
Zonebourse
But while individuals are riding the trend, it is mainly central banks that are making the biggest impact. In 2024, they bought 1,044 tons of gold, exceeding the symbolic threshold of 1,000 tons for the third consecutive year — well above the 473 tons purchased annually in the previous decade. At this rate, official reserves could reach their historic high of 38,300 tons by the end of 2026, a level not seen since 1965.
And unlike in previous decades, when developed countries reduced their stocks, it is now emerging countries that are leading the way: +44.17 tons for China, +72.6 for India, +89.5 for Poland, not to mention the Czech Republic, Iraq, Qatar and Egypt. Not all of them explain their purchases, but analysts believe that one motivation stands out: de-dollarization.
World Gold Council
Mistrust of the greenback has been building for over a decade. The fines imposed by the United States on foreign banks for processing transactions in dollars have left their mark. The freezing of Russian reserves in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point. And today, countries such as China, Iran, and Russia no longer want to depend on a currency controlled by Washington.
The other pillar of currency reserves, US Treasury bonds, is also suffering a loss of confidence. The surge in US public debt, now exceeding $36 trillion, is also a cause for concern. Trump's repeated U-turns, his attacks on the Fed's independence, and his unstable tariff measures are fueling fears of a return to inflation and a weakening dollar. In this climate, gold is once again becoming indispensable: it is independent, cannot be frozen, and offers protection against political and monetary turmoil.
And China seems to have made up its mind: its holdings of US Treasuries have fallen from $1.3 trillion in 2013 to less than $800 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, its official gold reserves have doubled, rising from 1,054 to 2,279 tons.
