China’s Largest Bank Is Quietly Cornering The Market For London Physical Gold
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
05/16/2016
We have followed the ownership changes of London’s massive vaults with keen interest ever since our December 2014 article when we reported that Deutsche Bank’s gold vaule was for sale in “Massive 1,500 Ton Gold Vault For Sale In The Heart Of London, One Previous Owner, Asking £4,500,000 O.B.O.” The fate of that particular vault was revealed earlier this year when Reuters reported that none other than China’s largest bank, ICBC Standard Bank, was buying the lease on Deutsche Bank’s London gold and silver vault, “enlarging its footprint in the city’s bullion market”
The Chinese and South African lender is aiming to fill the gap left by Western banks, which are retreating from commodities to cut costs and reduce regulatory burden. “They (ICBC Standard Bank) have taken on the lease for the vault,” the first source said.
Deutsche Bank’s vault became operational in June 2014 and has a capacity of 1,500 tonnes. It was built and is managed by British security services company G4S. “The figure that was initially talked about may have been around $4 million, but it’s way lower now,” a second source said, without disclosing the figure paid for the vault.
The Rest…HERE
