Most of the investment products available in Germany are held in custody at Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) in Nuremberg. But how important is Bayern LB really?
German distribution centres gain importance
German private investors bought an average of 2.2 grammes of gold via the distribution centre in Nuremberg in 2022. Last year, Bayern LB’s total trading volume was 85 metric tonnes, which corresponds to an increase of around 12% compared to 2021. In addition to gold investments, silver, platinum, and palladium products were also in demand, reaching 702 metric tonnes. In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, wholesalers also attribute the increase in precious metal sales to geopolitical events such as the war in Ukraine and high inflation. Michael Uebel, Head of the Precious Metals Competence Centre, said: “The key factors are our constantly growing customer base and our strong delivery capability thanks to many years of direct procurement from the world’s largest bullion producers and mints.”
BayernLB, the German Fort Knox?
Large quantities of precious metals are stored in the underground, closely guarded vaults of Bayerische Landesbank. This is necessary because they have to ensure that they can process orders promptly. In an online article from August 4, 2023, entitled “This is Germany’s largest precious metals trading centre”, the Handelsblatt newspaper said that it compares BayernLB to one of the largest gold storage facilities in the world, namely the US military base in Fort Knox, Kentucky. According to the US Mint, some 4,580 metric tonnes of gold worth 280 billion US dollars (256 billion euros) are stored there today. But Bayern LB is nowhere near this amount. For security reasons, however, the actual size of the gold and silver vault in Nuremberg is not and has never been disclosed.
Nevertheless, BayernLB is Germany’s most important transhipment centre for precious metals.
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