29/10/2026
NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković addressed participants in the Executive Forum on Gold Reserves Management today via videoconference. The Forum is being held in Pretoria from 26 to 29 October and is organised by the World Gold Council and the South African Reserve Bank. Governor Tabaković delivered the opening address on the second day of the Forum.
The Executive Forum, formerly known as the Executive Programme on Gold Reserves Management, is the World Gold Council’s leading international gathering for senior officials from central banks, sovereign wealth funds and ministries of finance. It has been held since the mid-2010s. Initially, it was organised in cooperation with leading universities around the world, including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Cambridge and Tsinghua University in Beijing. In recent years, it has been organised in cooperation with central banks and international financial institutions. This year’s Forum is attended by representatives of the Bank for International Settlements, the World Bank Treasury and the Bank of England, as well as representatives of numerous central banks and leading experts from the global gold market.
In her address to participants today, Governor Tabaković noted that the global financial order is at a major turning point and that, in an environment characterised by fragmentation and renewed and persistent inflationary pressures, the role of gold as a reserve asset had never been more critical. Speaking about Serbia’s strategic commitment, the Governor emphasised that the decision to increase gold reserves “was neither forced nor reactive, but part of a long-term strategy”.
The Governor also presented the latest data on Serbia’s gold reserves: “Our gold reserves, which reach a new record high every month, stand at 55.3 tonnes, with a total market value exceeding EUR 6.4 billion. As a result, gold accounts for as much as 21.6% of our total gross FX reserves.” She recalled that the quantity of gold held in reserves had increased more than three and a half times since the end of 2012, while its value had risen more than tenfold.
The Governor placed particular emphasis on the model of purchasing gold from domestic production, with occasional purchases of the precious metal in the international market serving as an additional source of growth in gold reserves. “We build the country’s financial security primarily on the basis of our own mineral wealth,” the Governor stated. She noted that, from the beginning of the year through the end of September, the NBS had purchased 2.6 tonnes of gold from domestic production. In this context, she highlighted the importance of the statutory priority right to buy gold from domestic production, granted to the NBS in early 2025. “This arrangement ensures that gold from our deposits is used primarily to strengthen domestic financial stability and the resilience of our economy, rather than automatically becoming an export commodity traded in international markets,” the Governor said. She emphasised that these purchases are made in the domestic currency, meaning that “they increase the NBS’s FX reserves rather than change their composition by reducing the interest-bearing component.”
Speaking about purchases in the international market, the Governor recalled that the NBS had purchased a total of 17 tonnes of gold through the Bank for International Settlements in 2019, 2020 and 2024. The market value of this gold has now doubled compared to the amount invested. “We purchased the first bars at USD 1,503 per fine ounce, while the average price paid for all 17 tonnes was USD 1,824 per fine ounce. They are now worth more than USD 4,000 per ounce,” the Governor noted. She observed that this demonstrated a forward-looking approach to managing the country’s reserves, particularly in light of the global crises that followed these international purchases.
“During times of crisis, gold is not merely a financial instrument; it is an anchor of stability, a pillar of economic sovereignty and a guarantee of independence,” Governor Tabaković concluded.
Governor's Office
