LBMA and Vaults

There is no LBMA list of accredited or approved vaults. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredits refiners, not vaults: it does not approve, accredit or audit vaults, in London or anywhere else.

The LBMA states this on its vaulting page: it “does not approve or accredit new vaults”. Its best-practice guidelines for vaults add that neither the LBMA nor London Precious Metals Clearing Limited (LPMCL) approves or authorises vaults. A vault is accepted for use bilaterally, between the customer — for example, an LPMCL member — and the vault.

What the LBMA publishes about vaults

• Custodians offering vaulting services in London. The LBMA lists six: three clearing members with their own vaults — HSBC, ICBC Standard Bank and JP Morgan — and three security carriers that are LBMA members — Brink’s, Malca-Amit and Loomis International (UK) Ltd. The Bank of England also provides custody for gold. The list shows who provides vaulting in the London market; it is not an accreditation.
• Best-practice guidelines for new vaults and for packing, transporting and storing bars. Following them does not guarantee that a vault will be accepted for London clearing.
• Vault holdings data. Each month the LBMA publishes the gold and silver held in London vaults, including the Bank of England’s holdings.
• Approved Weighers. Annex A of the Good Delivery Rules lists the firms whose weighing of gold and silver bars meets LBMA standards. The LBMA notes that the list relates solely to weighing and that it does not approve vaults.

What the LBMA accredits

The LBMA accredits refiners. Refiners that meet its requirements appear on the Good Delivery Lists for gold and silver, and bars they produce to the Good Delivery specification are accepted in settlement of Loco London contracts. Accreditation belongs to the refiner and its bars, not to the vault where the bars are kept.

In London, a Good Delivery bar keeps its status while it stays in the custody of the London vaults — the chain of integrity. A bar that leaves that custody must be reassessed and accepted back by a London vault manager.

Vaults outside London

Outside London the LBMA has no role in approving vaults. Some vault operators are LBMA members; that is membership of the association, not approval of a facility. Exchanges approve vaults for delivery against their own contracts — COMEX, for example, approves depositories for its gold futures — and those approvals are the exchange’s, not the LBMA’s.

Committees

The LBMA has no vault committee that receives audits. Its Vault Managers Working Group brings together London vault managers and advises the LBMA’s Physical Committee; it does not audit or approve vaults.

Wording to avoid

Labels such as “LBMA-approved vault”, “LBMA-accredited vault”, “LBMA Vault List” and “LBMA Vault Committee” do not correspond to anything the LBMA maintains. Accurate descriptions are “LBMA member” and, for London, “custodian offering vaulting services in London”, the LBMA’s own wording.

How the London market works around these vaults: London Bullion Market: LBMA, the Bank of England, JP Morgan, and HSBC.

Sources: LBMA — Vaulting · LBMA — Vaults Best Practice Guidelines · LBMA — Good Delivery Rules, Annex A: Approved Weighers · LBMA — Vault Managers Working Group, terms of reference