HQLA TIMELINE

2010
PLANTING THE SEEDS OF BASEL III RULES

Post‑GFC Bank Liquidity Rules Completed by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), Known as Basel III

Liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio rules drafted

HQLA List is Required to Support the Two New Rules

BCBS creates a criteria‑based definition of HQLA

Major Financial Jurisdictions Start HQLA Assessment

US and Europe complete their own with other BCBS members following Basel rules verbatim

2012
GOLD BECOMES AN HQLA CANDIDATE

Gold is a Level 2 Candidate on the European List

Gold would be used as HQLA and have between 15% and 50% RSF under NSFR

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2013
GOLD IS EXCLUDED FROM HQLA LISTS IN EU AND US

European Banking Authority (EBA) Completes the Uniform Definitions of e‑HQLA and HQLA, Which Exclude Gold

Gold failed to meet definitions due to the EBA not finding enough data to measure the liquidity attributes of gold

2018
2019
2021
THE GOLD MARKET RESPONSE TO ITS HQLA EXCLUSION

WGC Commissions Europe Economics to Critique EBA Methodology

Paper highlights the attributes of gold that the EBA missed in their assessment

LBMA Trade Data Reporting Mechanism

Daily OTC data becomes available

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Recognises Gold as a Currency

Paper released referencing gold’s use as a currency

WGC and LBMA Write to EU/EBA with Liquidity Findings from the New Data

EBA is asked by the European Commission to examine the impact of NSFR

EBA Report on the Impact of NSFR on the Precious Metals Market

It was argued that NSFR rules made gold funding more expensive, but the EBA rejected easing the rules since banks were already meeting the requirements

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Joint WGC/LBMA Response to PRA Consultation

UK's PRA introduces interdependent precious metals permission, allowing clearing firms that meet the regulatory requirement to reduce RSF to 0%

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2024
2025
DATA CONFIRMS THAT GOLD MEETS HQLA CRITERIA

Joint WGC/LBMA Presentation to BCBS Secretariat

Presentation of study - Gold as an HQLA

Academic Paper Issued - Is Gold a High Quality Liquid Asset?

Gold meets HQLA and is also found to perform better in financial stress events than most other assets

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Suerf Paper Published

ECB Acknowledges LBMA and WGC Work in Their Financial Stability Review

Review profiles and highlights that regulators are aware of gold's performance

Financial Stability Review

Gold Becomes the Second‑Largest Central Bank Reserve Asset

Wider and broader support for gold from central banks

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