(Kitco News) – The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council (WGC) are pushing to have gold reclassified under the Basel III banking framework, according to a report published Thursday by India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
The GJEPC wrote that senior LBMA representatives including Paul Fisher, Ruth Crowell, David Gornall, and Edel Tully, joined the WGC’s Mike Oswin in Basel, Switzerland for a meeting with the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). The LBMA-WGC delegation met with Neil Esho, Secretary General of the Basel Committee, and Noel Reynolds, the Head of Basel III Implementation, to make the case for gold as a High-Quality Liquid Asset (HQLA).
The reclassification of gold from its current status as a Tier 1 asset to an HQLA “would bring about enhanced market stability, improved liquidity, regulatory compliance benefits, greater confidence and trust in the financial system, and overall economic and financial stability,” the GJEPC report said. “This would be advantageous for both financial institutions and the broader economy.”
The LBMA said the meeting was productive, and the report said that the delegation received assurances from the BIS about the possible reclassification of gold as an HQLA. “The discussions centred around the broad criteria for HQLA status and the progress made in the gold market concerning data transparency,” they wrote.
The LBMA shared a working paper with the BIS containing data which supports gold’s potential classification as an HQLA. According to an LBMA presentation by David Gornall from Dec. 2023, the paper will form part of a broader study which “explores the potential of gold as a High-Quality Liquid Asset (HQLA) in the modern financial landscape.”
“The research aims to present evidence that gold meets the criteria of a Level 1 HQLA under Basel III regulations,” Gornall wrote. “It underscores gold's resilience, liquidity, and stability, particularly in times of financial stress.”
The presentation lists a number of elements that the LBMA believes support gold’s classification as an HQLA. These include the yellow metal’s fundamental characteristics, such as gold's “high credit standing, low legal risk, and denomination in USD,” and its market characteristics, such as its “low volatility, negative correlation with risky assets, and active and sizable market.”
“Gold meets all four fundamental and three market characteristics for HQLA,” Gornall wrote.
The joint delegation also presented additional findings from the ongoing academic study “which further substantiates gold’s qualifications,” the report said. “The delegation received constructive feedback on the additional information the committee requires to proceed with the reclassification.”
