Bank of International Settlements Discloses Counterparties To Gold Swap

Ten European banks were on the other side of the gold swap, according to a Bloomberg summary of a Financial Times report.

The Bank for International Settlements swapped gold with more than 10 banks in Europe, including HSBC Holdings Plc, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, to earn a return on its dollar-denominated holdings, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified European bankers.

The BIS initiated the transactions, asking commercial banks to pledge a gold swap as guarantee for the dollar deposits they were taking from the BIS, the newspaper said.

That may be all to the story, but it seems odd given that the BIS normally deals with central banks.