Poland’s central bank has accumulated 700 tonnes of gold in its reserves, its head Adam Glapinski said Thursday, emphasising it strengthens Poland’s credibility and security, and ensures the stability of the zloty currency.
This is a 150-tonne increase since January, when the bank possessed 550 tonnes of gold in its reserves.
“This is a historic achievement for Poland’s central bank,” Glapinski said at a press conference, adding that “Poland has consolidated its position among the 10 countries with the largest gold reserves in the world”.
Poland is one of the few European Union countries not to have adopted the euro single currency.
According to Glapinski, the gold currently held by the central bank is worth 355.7 billion zlotys (about $91 billion).
The bank’s management board decided that one third of the gold will be held in New York, another third in London, and a third in the National Bank of Poland (NBP), said Glapinski, emphasising the reasons for this included Poland’s security.
“We’ve been through many wars, many different cataclysms, so it’s simply just in case,” he said.
The NATO and EU member is a neighbour of Russia and Ukraine, and has on several occasions accused Moscow of “sabotage” on its territory.
The NBP has aligned itself with a trend seen at many central banks around the world, which have largely continued to increase their purchases of gold.
Glapinski said Poland’s gold reserves should continue to grow.
