Central Banks Continue Buying Gold At Record Numbers

Schiff Gold: Central Bank Gold Buying Sets First Quarter Record 

After a record-setting 2022, central banks continued to buy gold in the first quarter of 2023, setting a new Q1 record. 

Overall, global central bank gold reserves increased by 228 tons through the first three months of 2023. This was 38% higher than the previous first-quarter record set in 2013. 

Total central bank gold buying in 2022 came in at 1,136 tons. It was the highest level of net purchases on record dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971. It was the 13th straight year of net central bank gold purchases.  

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Update #1: Central banks are boosting stockpiles of gold in their reserves amid a backlash against the dollar (Insider)  

Update #2: Central Bank Gold Buying Off To A Record-Breaking Start In 2023, Led By Singapore (Zero Hedge)  

WNU Editor: You have to wonder what do the Central Bankers know that we do not.

More Cracks In The International Banking System

 

CNBC: Credit Suisse shares plunge 17% as bank announces huge third-quarter loss and strategic overhaul 

* Credit Suisse has been plagued by sluggish investment banking revenues, losses relating to its business in Russia and litigation costs following a host of legacy compliance and risk management failures, most notably the Archegos hedge fund scandal. 

* The embattled lender posted a third-quarter net loss of 4.034 billion Swiss francs ($4.09 billion), compared with analyst expectations for a loss of 567.93 million Swiss francs. The figure is also well below the 434 million Swiss franc profit posted for the same quarter last year. 

Credit Suisse shares plunged 17% on Thursday after the Swiss bank posted a quarterly loss that was significantly worse than analyst estimates, and announced a massive strategic overhaul. 

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Update #1: Credit Suisse seeks billions from investors in make-or-break shake-up (Reuters)  

Update #2: Credit Suisse cuts 9,000 jobs to stem losses (BBC)  

WNU Editor: The Saudis are going to bail them out. This is astounding. Credit Suisse use to be a global Tier 1 bank. No more now.

Bank Giant Credit Suisse Says It Is Not Facing Collapse

 

CNBC: Credit Suisse shares pare losses after earlier plunging as much as 10% 

* Shares of Credit Suisse took a swing after earlier plunging as much as 10% Monday as the Financial Times reported the Swiss bank’s executives are in talks with its major investors to reassure them amid rising concerns over the Swiss lender’s financial health. 

* Spreads of the bank’s credit default swaps, which provide investors with protection against financial risks such as default, rose sharply Friday. 

* They followed reports the Swiss lender is looking to raise capital, citing a memo from its chief executive, Ulrich Koerner. 

Shares of Credit Suisse recovered their losses and ended the Monday trading session down around 1% after a big market rally. 

The shares had dropped as much as 10% at the start of trading after the Financial Times reported the Swiss bank’s executives are in talks with its major investors to reassure them amid rising concerns over the lender’s financial health.  

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Update #1: Credit Suisse stock falls to fresh record low as investor concerns mount (CNN)  

Update #2: Credit Suisse is fending off concerns about its financial health, fanning fears of another Lehman Brothers moment that could roil the global financial system. Here's what's happening, and what it means. (Market Insider)  

WNU Editor: Investors are nervous. Correction. Very nervous. And those who have money clearly do not have confidence in Credit Suisse .... Cost of insuring against Credit Suisse defaulting reaches record high (The Guardian). 

In the meantime today's markets closed with substantial gains .... US stocks gain ground; pound rallies after UK tax retreat (AP).

Banks Around The World Have Been Experiencing Consistent Outages

Naked Capitalism: Banks Around World Are Suffering Big Outages, Leaving Millions of Customers in Lurch At Worst Possible Time 

Twenty banks (some suffering repeated outages), six countries (one in lockdown), five continents, tens of millions of unhappy customers. 

There’s never a good time for your bank’s IT system to go down. But few can be worse than in the middle of a lockdown. It’s difficult to leave home, your local branch may not be open, and as a result you are more reliant than ever on digital banking services. In New Zealand, now in its seventh week of nationwide lockdown, one of the country’s largest lenders, Kiwibank, went down on Tuesday, leaving many of its customers in the lurch. It is one of a string of IT outages the bank has suffered over the past three weeks, after a DDoS attack on New Zealand’s third largest Internet provider caused IT crashes at a number of lenders, including Commonwealth Bank and Anz Bank. 

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WNU Editor: This is a sensitive topic to me. I lost some my money in a Ukraine bank a few years ago that exhibited the same patterns that I am now seeing around the world. And a lot of my friends and family lost their savings in Russian banks in the early 1990s when their banking system collapsed. 

Bottom line. I have had first hand experience when it comes to bank failures. 

I know in the West many feel that their accounts are safe, and this type of disaster would not happen here. 

I say do not be complacent. 

Having difficulty accessing one's banking account is now becoming a regular occurrence. 

Bank of America had problems last week .... Bank of America's online banking system went down Friday, locking thousands of customers out of their accounts (Insider), and New Zealand's Kiwi Bank has had consistent problems for the past month .... Kiwibank app, online banking out of action again: 'Changing banks soon as I can' (Stuff.co.nz) 

It seems that global bank outages are now becoming a regular occurrence. Considering how interconnected the world's financial systems are, this should surprise no one.