What the Swiss Gold Referendum Means for Central Banks

On November 30, the lucky Swiss citizens get to go to the polls and tell the Swiss National Bank what to do about gold. A yes-vote will require the SNB to:

  • Increase its gold reserves to 20% of its assets, which may force it to buy 1,500 to 1,700 tons of gold
  • Stop selling its gold
  • Hold all its gold within the country (rather than in London, and elsewhere).

It will send shock waves through the gold market and will be a game changer for central banks around the world, according to Egon von Greyerz, Founder and Managing Partner of Matterhorn Asset Management, Switzerland, and one of the powers behind the initiative. In this exclusive interview, he discusses the Swiss Gold Referendum and its profound implications. The role of China? It’s a “fascinating game,” he says, of how the “West is losing its gold,” while China is buying gold, taking physical delivery often via Switzerland, and “clearly building up a massive stock of gold.” Watch the video….

The video originally appeared on Goldbroker.com, which offers a unique solution to buying physical gold and silver and storing it in Switzerland or Singapore, outside the banking system.

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  13 comments for “What the Swiss Gold Referendum Means for Central Banks

  1. Vespa P200E says:

    Good for the Swiss citizens who are fiercely independent and astute voters (unlike USSA with lemmings suckered into hope & change and forward mantras begging for government handouts) and not easily swayed by the media, loosely federated federal government and banksters who BTW are against this gold referendum.

    I think this referendum if passed may results in more gold buying by SNB as more outside FIAT currencies may chase CHF (Swiss Franc) backed by gold.

    I go to Switzerland often on business (3 times YTD with another trip planned for Thanksgiving week) and Swiss are also bit anal about outsiders getting the coveted Swiss citizenship, get Swiss passports and of course allowed to vote. Each of 26 canton has lot of control akin to US states with its own constitution, legislature, government and courts.

  2. NotSoSure says:

    The vote will be defeated for sure. Have to keep the ponzi going.

  3. leilu says:

    There is no word of it in the media. However the No campaign i.e. the collective parliament and banker controlled media have already scared the daylights out of the Swiss with their pensions, jobs as the threat of housing inflation becomes severe. The Swiss will vote not be voting, simply because they are not even aware of the campaign. No posters on the street. It is weird.

  4. Pvtskulker says:

    I foresee another fraud vote like we saw with Scotland. Bankers won’t allow a yes outcome.

  5. Pierre says:

    As a swiss citizen, I can confirm that it will not pass. Voters are risk-adverse when it comes to economic issues and it will be seen as a dangerous move in the context of the de-facto peg to the euro that is so dear to swiss exporters.

    • BS says:

      I agree with your assessment. IMHO, the ploy is there for gold bugs to hype gold sales to those who are susceptible to such offerings, based on rumor, false expectations, and innuendo.

      The Swiss government and powers-that-are will “inform” the voters that they will loose their pensions and social welfare programs, and the government will not function properly in supplying services.

      Then watch the referendum go down to defeat by a ratio of 2 or 3 to 1.

  6. To keep its export economy competitive, Switzerland made a bold decision some years ago to trash the franc. With so much at stake, why would voters now want to ratify an action that would return the franc to its former status as “The World’s Hardest Currency”? Honest money may have been a source of Swiss pride for centuries, but pride didn’t stop Great Britain from ditching gold to avoid the ravages of the 1930s Depression.

  7. Larry H. says:

    The world’s reserve currency, the USDollar has a deficit which is currently exposed to a value of $100 Trillion. There is no way the world can balance their books, so something has to give and devaluations across all currencies will, without any doubt, occur at some time. Gold is the refuge of last resort and remains the best asset to hold in high turmoil situations, so there is no way that Gold will not have a major valuation.
    The Gold price is being seriously manipulated at present by the USA and China, hence the reduction in gold price valuation, but reality will eventually set in and the price will significantly rise over the next few weeks. Hold Gold for the major upcoming price upswing.

    • Rick Ackerman says:

      I agree that the global devaluation olympiad that has been going on for many years cannot but have bullish consequences for gold down the road. First, though, I fear, the deflationary trend now beginning to engulf Europe, and already at 75&% strength in Japan, must play out to a ruinous end.

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