The new treasury of the Bank of Greece has been opened – the place where the country’s gold reserves are stored

Bank of Greece Governor Yiannis Stournaras, in the presence of the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, inaugurated the renovated premises of the Central Treasury of the Bank of Greece, where the country’s gold reserves are stored.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Monday, Stournaras said the Central Treasury of the Bank of Greece now has state-of-the-art classification, inventory and security facilities.

Διαβάστε την ομιλία του Διοικητή Γιάννη Στουρνάρα στα Εγκαίνια του ανακαινισμένου Κεντρικού Θησαυροφυλακίου της ΤτΕ: https://t.co/IiViQnfrB9 pic.twitter.com/Dy92BLTdeg

— Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος (@BankofGreece) February 5, 2024

Taking a Historical Overview of Gold Storage, Yiannis Stournaras notedthat after the 1930s the bank not only ensured that the percentage of pure gold it held was increased, but that much of it was kept overseas* to cope with emergencies.

“The same thing happens today: 47% of gold is stored in Greece, and the rest is divided between the US (29%), UK (20%) and Switzerland (4%),” the head of the Central Bank noted.

In his speech, Yiannis Stournaras touched on price trends, noting that the recent rise in international inflation is not due to policy mistakes or increased demand, but to exogenous shocks such as the war in Ukraine and rising fuel prices.

As the head of the Bank of Greece added, “Inflation has been falling significantly around the world for several months now, and key interest rates from central banks are expected to begin cutting during 2024.”

This practice may be necessary, but the experience of World War II, when Greece transferred its gold reserves to Britain, was, to put it mildly, unsuccessful. After the end of the war Britain refused to return the gold stating that it was used as “military expenditures of Greek troops in the Middle East” during World War II, although Greece did not officially recognize its loss. And formally it belongs to us, but actually confiscated by Britain!

Source link