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Robert Lambourne: UK's gold account is unusually late with annual report
By Robert Lambourne
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
The annual report of the vehicle used by the United Kingdom government to hold most of its foreign exchange and gold reserves, the Exchange Equalisation Account (EEA), is unusually late.
Normally the UK Treasury publishes an audited annual report of the EEA in the July following its reporting year end of March 31. So far no annual report for the EEA covering the year to March 31, 2025, has been published, more than six months since the year end.
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For context, the annual report of the EEA for the year to March 31, 2024, disclosed the gross value of assets held as £149.2 billion. The array of assets includes debt securities, money-market instruments, reverse repo agreements, derivative financial assets, International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights, and gold. The Treasury is responsible for the management of the EEA and an agreement is in place whereby the Bank of England assumes responsibility for executing trades and other aspects of managing the EEA's assets.
In late August this writer contacted the Treasury via his member of Parliament to request an explanation for the delay and a likely publication date. It took more than five weeks to get a response that offered no detail on the reasons for the delay, other than to suggest that certain audit procedures needed to be completed. Neither was any likely deadline provided for publication of the annual report.
It's not clear why a five-week delay was needed to say nothing.
Hence there appears to be a problem with obtaining an approval of the accounts from an independent auditor. While not wholly analogous, it is unlikely that a public company listed on a stock exchange could avoid disclosing far more information than has happened here, especially six months after the end of the reporting year. Furthermore, its share price would probably plummet if it wasn't more forthcoming.
The Treasury appears to be keen to avoid any reference to the delayed annual report in its monthly statistical release covering the EEA's assets.
The latest monthly release, dated October 3, 2025, is here:
Footnote 30 on Page 8 mentions the internet location of audited annual reports, but the footnote fails to explain that no annual report for the year to March 31, 2025, has been issued.
There are many potential problems that might affect the judgment of an independent auditor.
Consider one possibility where some adverse publicity had already arisen this year.
Shortly after the Trump administration came into office, it was widely reported that the Bank of England was having problems getting gold out of its vaults. In a meeting with media outlets the following statement was made February 6 by Dave Ramsden, deputy governor of the Bank of England about gold delivery delays:
"Gold is a physical asset, so there are real logistical constraints and security constraints. Getting into the Bank for me this morning was a bit trickier because there was a lorry in the bullion yard. ... It takes time and the stuff is also quite heavy. ... We've got slots for all the people who currently want to get their gold ... [but] if you were coming in new to us you might have to wait a bit longer because all the existing slots are booked up."
Some knowledgeable people suggested that the Bank of England or commercial bullion banks might be in default because of the delays in moving the gold. Here are some relevant comments from the time:
And then from June 2025:
https://discoveryalert.com.au/news/counterparty-risk-gold-derivatives-demand-2025/
During the second and third quarters of 2025 there was a substantial increase in the use of the "Exchange for Risk" mechanism on the New York Commodities Exchange. This transaction type is known as an "Exchange of Futures for Risk" (EFR). This is a type of "Exchange for Related Position" (EFRP) transaction where a futures contract is simultaneously exchanged for an over-the-counter derivative, such as a swap.
There was speculation from GATA's consultant on the Comex, Harvey Organ, that one of the major users of the EFR mechanism was the Bank of England, pursuing an unconventional way to acquire physical gold.
Now is it really just a coincidence that the annual report of the EEA in the UK is still not published when the Bank of England was not only having problems getting gold out of its vaults but is subsequently suspected of being behind the increased volumes of "Exchange for Risk" transactions in recent months?
In the absence of more information from the Treasury, the question remains open.
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Robert Lambourne is a retired businessman in the UK who consults for GATA about the Bank for International Settlements, U.S. government debt, and related matters.
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