The London Bullion Market A Changing Vista. Stewart Murray Chief Executive The London Bullion Market Association

Transcription

1 The London Bullion Market A Changing Vista Stewart Murray Chief Executive The London Bullion Market Association

2 Early History Moses Mocatta established in London in 1671 and started shipping silver to India Foundation of Bank of England in London exporting silver to India sourced from Spain s Latin American empire : discoveries of gold in California, Australia, South Africa and the Yukon reinforced London s position as the world s major bullion trading centre By early 1900s refineries in Perth, Melbourne and Johannesburg linked to London market

3 The Twentieth Century Gold Market in a Nutshell The Gold Standard ends in US revaluation of gold from $20.67 to $35 per ounce Liberalisation of the market Early 1980s advent of producer hedging 1987: Big Bang - the Financial Services and Markets Act 1999 Central Bank Gold Agreement

4 The OTC Approach OTC way of doing business unchanged for the past two centuries The OTC process: Two parties agree deal in loco London market Transaction is cleared at end of day by the parties clearing banks - metal and money is transferred between accounts Importance of credit and compliance

5 LBMA Development s: More foreign players operating in precious metals 1987: Financial Services and Markets Act - Bank of England saw the need for an association where all participants could join on an equal basis LBMA took over Good Delivery Lists for gold and silver Early 1990s: all members had to be UK registered companies 2000: membership opened to international associates 2002: foreign banks with UK branch can join as Members 2009: foreign banks with UK subsidiary can become members

6 What London provides for Precious Metal Investment Allocated and Unallocated Accounts A Benchmark Mechanism the fixings Competitive 24-hour trading Liquidity providers (market makers) Good delivery system Vaulting Clearing system

7 Metal Accounts Unallocated Accounts Equivalent to a current account at a bank. Account maintenance fees are charged. Allocated Accounts Segregated bars are held in the name of individual depositors. Storage fees are charged.

8 Vaulting Nine recognised Custodians in London Security Experience Quality monitoring Gatekeeper role

9 Modern History of the LBMA Twin Pillars

10 Purpose of the Good Delivery List Settlement of a loco London contract is a Good Delivery Bar (the brand being at seller s option) To provide fungibility for the loco London contract Level Playing Field (for refiners, fabricators and investors) Increasingly seen as the only globally accepted accreditation

11 What is the Good Delivery List? List of Gold and Silver refiners and their large bars Published by the LBMA since 1987 but origins go back to the 1800s Originally an informal arrangement between London vaults, listing refiners whose bars were acceptable as GD (ie LGD) The List is now maintained by the LBMA using objective criteria for admission and continued listing It is used by many markets for defining deliverable brands To be acceptable as LGD, all bars delivered to London vaults must also meet the LBMA s technical specifications

12 Good Delivery Accreditation Non-technical criteria must be satisfied before accepting an application for assessment Details of Owners and Directors In business for 5 years Operating History 3 years tangible net worth - 10 m Refined production level 10 tonnes pa for gold Technical Assessment two parts : Assaying test 24 gold reference samples Bar test - 11bars inspected in London; 5 bars tested by 2 referees

13 Technical Assessment LBMA reference samples produced to LBMA specifications by 5 referees Controlled by the LBMA Executive Testing of bars by Referees Double blind basis (the Referee is ignorant of the identity of the refiner and vice versa)

14 Location of the refiners then and now Steady move eastwards Japan was always No. 1 in terms of numbers

15 Location of the refiners then and now Steady move eastwards Japan was always No. 1 in terms of numbers Decline in Europe, Australia & the Americas New Russian refiners post Soviet Union Rapid growth in China since 2000

16 The doc Versions of the List

17 Active List and Former List Active List means: Refinery is operating and is accredited Bars described are in current production Former List means that The bars and refiners listed are still acceptable, but the refinery may no longer be operating, or the refinery may no longer be accredited, or the bars shown may have been replaced by new ones

18 The Electronic Version of the List Used by London Vaults to look up bar dimensions and illustrations as well as information on refiners

19 What are the features of a Gold Good Delivery Bar? Cast in open moulds Size Marks Good Physical Appearance

20 Gold Good Delivery Bar Specifications Size: 400 ± troy oz Range of LxWxH & undercut Marks Logo, number, year, assay Assay fine Physical Appearance Flat surfaces, no holes or cracks

21 Physical Defects Button-like defects Cracks and fissures Exuding voids Flaky edges Flattened nodules and ridges Former marks Surface pits or holes Layering Sharp ledges Poor marks Missing marks Mould Marks Nodules and Ridges Rough Surfaces Sharp edges Excessive Shrinkage Shrinkage Cavity Stacking problems Voids Wedge shape

22 Detecting Internal Defects using Ultrasound High frequency sound waves reflect off internal voids and foreign bodies Used for investigating suspect bars, eg with button-like defects

23 Proactive Monitoring Introduced in 2004 Rolling three-year retesting of all refiners on the List Focus on assaying ability

24 Regulation In UK spot and forward precious metals are not regulated Options are regulated products Most LBMA members are regulated by FSA VAT - Changing environment REACH the end game

25 Cleared Forwards Post-Lehman Brothers Perceived need to eliminate counterparty risk Introduction of cleared forwards by CME Group and London Clearing House Use of cleared forwards is an option for traders

26 The Gold Forward Curve Development of a London gold market forward curve For use in margining cleared forwards Data contributed by the LBMA s 8 Forward Market Makers Will be available for sale to any market participants or observers Currently negotiating with the London Metal Exchange concerning the method of compilation and distribution of the curve

27 Future Issues Regulation US pressure to trade commodities on-exchange Increase understanding about how the London market works Data Commercialisation Widening of the membership base Requests to exchanges to contribute financially to supporting the Good Delivery work

28 Further Information Website

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