Germany: Bundesbank’s Official Statment On Where It’s Gold Is (And Isn’t)

Bundesbank’s Official Statment On Where It’s Gold Is (And Isn’t) (ZeroHedge, Oct 27, 2012):

Three days ago, as a result of recent discoveries relating to Germany’s official sovereign gold inventory, we asked a rhetorical question: “Why Did The Bundesbank Secretly Withdraw Two-Thirds Of Its London Gold?” There we presented the chonology of official disclosure regarding the whereabouts of German gold over the past decade, with an emphasis on its reclamation from London-based official vaults to the safety of the motherland, and left off with another open-ended statement that: “what is left unsaid in all of the above is that Germany has done nothing wrong! It simply demanded a reclamation of what is rightfully Germany’s to demand.” Nonetheless, the fact that Germany did this has opened a Pandora’s box of unanswered questions, and even demands that Germany promptly demand delivery all of its gold – the second largest such hoard in the world only after the US – held abroad. Below is the official response by the Bundesbank.

Here is the gist::

We do not have the slightest doubt that our holdings in New York and Paris are also made up of the purest fine gold. We have at our disposal fully documented lists of the bars, and our partner central banks send us every year confirmation not only of the bars’ existence but also of their quality.

We had nothing but the best of experiences with our partners in New York, London and Paris. There was never any doubt about the security of Germany’s gold. In future, we wish to continue to keep gold at international gold trading centres so that, when push comes to shove, we can have it available as a reserve asset as soon as possible. Gold stored in your home safe is not immediately available as collateral in case you need foreign currency.

How about if you need collateral in your own currency, such as the de facto reserve currency of Europe, the DEM? Crickets?

The punchline:

Take, for instance, the key role that the US dollar plays as a reserve currency in the global financial system. The gold held with the New York Fed can, in a crisis, be pledged with the Federal Reserve Bank as collateral against US dollar-denominated liquidity. Similar pound sterling liquidity could be obtained by pledging the gold that is held with the Bank of England.

And what otherwise would pass as Saturday Humor:

Read moreGermany: Bundesbank’s Official Statment On Where It’s Gold Is (And Isn’t)

Where Are Germany’s Gold Reserves And What Is Their Actual Book Value

What Is The Actual Book Value Of Germany’s Gold Reserves (ZeroHedge, Oct 23, 2012):

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,717.00, EUR 1,317.22, and GBP 1,072.12 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,725.00, EUR 1,321.03, and GBP 1,075.10 per ounce.

Read moreWhere Are Germany’s Gold Reserves And What Is Their Actual Book Value

Bank Of France Debts Jump Tenfold On Capital Flight

Bank of France debts jump tenfold on capital flight (Telegraph, Dec. 6, 2011):

French lenders lost €100bn (£86bn) in short-term deposits in September alone, mostly due to precautionary moves by US money market funds and Asian investors afraid of France’s exposure to Italy. “There were huge net capital outflows,” said Eric Dor from the IESEG School of Management in Lille.

The effects of this capital flight are surfacing on the Bank of France’s books under the European Central Bank’s so-called “Target2” scheme, an ECB payment network that lets funds move automatically where needed.

Liabilities jumped suddenly in late July, rising from €10bn to €98bn by September. Ireland’s central bank owes €118bn, Spain’s €108bn and Italy’s €89bn.

The triple-trigger appears to have been a sudden drop in Club Med manufacturing orders, an ECB rate rise, and the EU’s July summit – which led to haircuts on Greek bondholders and battered faith in EMU sovereign debt.

Read moreBank Of France Debts Jump Tenfold On Capital Flight

Germany, France May Hurt AAA Ratings in ‘Ponzi Game at The Highest Level’

This bailout is a Ponzi scheme and the people will foot the bill:

Here Is Who Just Got Their A$$ Saved By The Huge Euro Bailout (Business Insider)

Federal Reserve Opens Line Of Credit To Europe (AP)

Stephen Pope of Cantor Fitzgerald on ECB buying government bonds: ‘This is total, undiluted quantitative easing.’ (Forbes)

ECB Resorts to ‘Nuclear Option,’ Intervenes in Bond Market to Fight Euro Crisis (Bloomberg)


the-deutsche-bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank. (Bloomberg)

May 11 (Bloomberg) — Germany and France are among top- rated euro-area states that may compromise their AAA grades by standing behind the debts of weaker members with their 750 billion-euro ($955 billion) stabilization fund.

The package is “making debt profiles deteriorate, potentially damaging the ratings of core sovereigns,” said Stefan Kolek, a strategist at UniCredit SpA in Munich. “It’s a kind of Ponzi game at the highest level.”

The unprecedented loan package was designed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to halt a sovereign- debt crisis that threatened to push Greece, Portugal and Spain into default and shatter confidence in the euro. As part of the support plan, Germany’s Bundesbank, the Bank of France and the Bank of Italy started buying government bonds yesterday.

Bonds of Portugal, Spain and other deficit-plagued nations on Europe’s periphery soared yesterday and bunds — the safe haven for holders of European government bonds — weakened as the threat of a Greek default receded. The cost of insuring against sovereign losses using credit-default swaps tumbled yesterday, with contracts on Greece sliding 370 basis points, their biggest one-day decline, to 577, according to CMA DataVision.

Read moreGermany, France May Hurt AAA Ratings in ‘Ponzi Game at The Highest Level’