[KarlInOhio]

I believe the Fed got caught playing fractional reserve banking games with the gold. If Germany owns the gold and stores it at the Fed, the Fed could "lend" it to person A who then sells short (on paper) to person B. Person C then borrows it and sells it short to person D. So that same hunk of gold belongs to Germany, B and D while the Fed, A and C all are liable for the gold. If Germany demands physical delivery then the whole short sale chain falls apart unless the Fed can get some other gold. It's like a run on the bank emptying out the vault of all the real cash leaving the bank unable to pay other depositors and trying to call in their loans.

If you see an unruly line forming at your bank, you're smart to get into it before they run out of money.

The question is did Germany's contract with the Fed allow them to do fiscal tricks like lending it for short selling, or did they get caught with their hands in the cookie jar when the Germans contracted for undisturbed physical storage of the gold? It's like the difference between a checking account where you don't expect to get the same stack of $20 bills back from the bank and a safe deposit bank where you expect your money will be undisturbed.

[LadyBuck]

The inspection refusal is kind of a red flag....

[DoodleDawg]

If Germany owns the gold and stores it at the Fed, the Fed could "lend" it to person A who then sells short (on paper) to person B. Person C then borrows it and sells it short to person D.

No they couldn't because A) the gold doesn't belong to them, and B) the Fed doesn't deal with individuals. Around 98% of the gold in the vault at the New York Fed belongs to foreign countries. Virtually all the rest belongs to international agencies. Only a fraction of a percent belongs to the U.S.

[mdmathis6]

Well if the demand to have gold repatriated to all countries gets going like an avalanche, our country will have to open up gold mines in all of the environmentally sensitive areas . Mine gold baby Mine gold will be the desperate battle cry!. Even citizens’ jewelry won’t be safe!