2009-08-26 | 129044

Regulation on Commercial Bank Operations with Precious Metals

The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic issued this regulation to establish mandatory requirements for commercial banks conducting operations with gold, silver, and platinum bullion. It defines permitted activities, including anonymous and safekeeping metal accounts, while strictly limiting operations to LBMA-standard refined bars and prohibiting dealings with gemstones. The document enforces rigorous internal controls, daily reporting of open position limits, and specific technical standards for weighing and assay equipment to ensure market stability and compliance.

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Regulation on Commercial Bank Operations with Precious Metals

(As amended by the Board Resolutions of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1, December 21, 2016 No. 49/7, June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10, November 12, 2025 No. 2025-P-12/60-4-(NPA))

I. General Provisions

1.1. This Regulation establishes the requirements of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter - the National Bank) for the conduct by commercial banks of the Kyrgyz Republic of operations with precious metals.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

1.2. Terms used in this Regulation:

1.2.1. Precious metals are:

  • gold in refined standard and measure bars;
  • silver in refined standard and measure bars;
  • platinum in refined standard and measure bars.

1.2.2. Refined standard bars of precious metals are manufactured and marked bars of precious metals corresponding to international quality standards accepted by the London Bullion Market Association (Appendix 1).

1.2.3. Refined measure bars are manufactured and marked bars of precious metals issued (released) by the National Bank or an assaying enterprise certified by the London Bullion Market Association, with a mass of 1000 grams or less, containing not less than 99.95-99.99 percent of the ligature mass of the bar for gold and not less than 99.90 percent of the ligature mass of the bar for silver/platinum.

1.2.4. (Lost force in accordance with the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated December 21, 2016 No. 49/7)

1.2.5. (Lost force in accordance with the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

1.2.6. Ligature (gross) mass is the actual total mass of the alloy containing the precious metal.

1.2.7. One troy ounce is a unit of mass equal to 31.1035 g.

1.2.8. Purity is the content of a specific precious metal, measured in parts per thousand units of the mass of the alloy.

1.2.9. Metal accounts are accounts opened by the bank for clients for the purpose of accounting and carrying out operations with precious metals.

1.2.10. Anonymous metal accounts are accounts opened by the bank for accounting for precious metals without indicating individual characteristics and carrying out operations to attract and place precious metals.

1.2.11. Safekeeping metal accounts are client accounts intended for accounting for precious metals transferred to the bank while preserving their individual characteristics (name, quantity of valuables, purity, manufacturer, serial number, etc.).

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

1.3. The requirements of this Regulation apply only to refined standard and measure bars of precious metals specified in sub-item 1.2.1 of item 1.2 of this Regulation. Commercial banks are not permitted to carry out operations with precious stones and other forms of precious metals.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated December 21, 2016 No. 49/7)

1.4. In accordance with international practice for conducting operations with precious metals, operations with gold are carried out in quantitative units of pure metal mass (in troy ounces or grams), and operations with platinum and silver are carried out in quantitative units of the ligature mass of the metal.

To account for precious metals in grams, rounding to tenths must be performed as follows:

  1. if the hundredth part is greater than or equal to 5, the tenth part is increased by 1, and all subsequent digits are excluded;
  2. if the hundredth part is less than 5, the tenth part remains unchanged, and all subsequent digits are excluded.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

1.5. Monetary assets and liabilities expressed in precious metals are subject to revaluation on a daily basis at the evening fixing of the London Bullion Market Association, established on the day preceding the day of revaluation.

In this regard, revaluation of refined measure bars issued by the National Bank is carried out in accordance with the bank's accounting policy.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

II. Operations of Commercial Banks with Precious Metal Bars

2.1. A bank, having operations with precious metals in the list of permitted banking operations in the bank's license for the right to conduct banking operations, may conduct the following operations with precious metals in cash and non-cash form:

  • maintenance of metal accounts and attraction of precious metals for agreed terms in its own name from other commercial banks, legal entities, and individuals;
  • placement of precious metals for agreed terms in its own name on metal accounts opened in other banks;
  • provision of loans to banks in precious metals, and receipt of loans from banks in precious metals;
  • purchase and sale of precious metals in its own name on behalf of the client;
  • purchase and sale of precious metals in its own name for its own account;
  • carrying out operations with derivative financial instruments using precious metals.

Commercial banks are prohibited from carrying out operations with precious metals other than those listed above.

Commercial banks may carry out the purchase and sale of coins made of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum) that are a means of payment without obtaining permission from the National Bank for the right to conduct banking operations with precious metals.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

2.2. Precious metals with which banks carry out operations under this Regulation must meet the following requirements:

  • correspond to the London good delivery international quality standards, and be manufactured by assaying enterprises listed in the London Bullion Market Association;
  • be manufactured in the form of measure bars used as weights to standard bars to express (achieve) weights corresponding to contract conditions;
  • be manufactured in the form of measure bars in accordance with the National Standard of the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyz State Standards (KGS) 1281:2015).

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

2.3. Commercial banks carrying out operations with precious metals in the form of standard and measure bars (except for refined measure bars of precious metals issued (released) by the National Bank) are obliged:

  • to possess certified in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic weighing instruments and weights for weighing precious metals, the weighing error of which does not exceed the limits specified in Appendix 2;
  • and in the absence thereof, to use the services of weighing by third-party organizations whose weighing instruments and weights meet the requirements specified in Appendix 2;
  • to possess special equipment specified in Appendix 2-1 for conducting rapid analysis of the composition of measure bars of precious metals, for the purpose of determining the percentage content of the precious metal and impurities;
  • to carry out storage and transportation of precious metals in compliance with the established safety requirements of legislation.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

2.4. (Lost force in accordance with the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

2.5. Banks carrying out operations with precious metals in the form of standard and measure bars must take into account that under the influence of geophysical and atmospheric factors and due to the design features of weighing instruments, their readings when weighing precious metal bars may differ from the readings of previous weighings of these valuables recorded in accounting or accompanying documents (Appendix 3).

2.6. The maximum volume of assets in precious metals and the amount of funds for carrying out operations with precious metals on behalf of clients must together constitute no more than 100% of the size of the paid-up charter capital of the bank.

From the calculation of the maximum volume of assets in precious metals and the amount of funds for carrying out operations with precious metals, assets and funds in precious metals within the framework of providing financial services related to the primary placement of virtual assets of the issuer in accordance with the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Virtual Assets" are excluded.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated November 12, 2025 No. 2025-P-12/60-4-(NPA))

2.7. All operations where preservation of individual characteristics of precious metals is not an obligatory condition of the concluded contracts are carried out through anonymous metal accounts.

2.7-1. Banks open anonymous metal accounts for carrying out operations to attract and place precious metals.

2.7-2. For carrying out operations related to the transfer of precious metals through anonymous metal accounts, banks have the right to establish correspondent relationships:

  1. with the National Bank, for conducting operations with precious metals in the form of refined measure bars issued (released) by the National Bank;
  2. with non-resident banks, for conducting operations with precious metals in the form of refined standard and measure bars of other issuers.

2.7-3. Attraction and placement of precious metals on anonymous metal accounts may be carried out by transferring precious metals from other anonymous metal accounts, crediting precious metals to anonymous metal accounts upon their physical delivery, as well as by crediting precious metals sold to the client, or precious metals purchased by the bank.

Return of precious metals from anonymous metal accounts of clients is possible by transferring precious metals to other anonymous metal accounts, withdrawing precious metals from accounts both in physical form and in monetary terms in national currency, as well as by making a transaction for the purchase and sale of precious metals listed on metal accounts.

(As amended by the Board Resolutions of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1, June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

2.8. The contract for an anonymous metal account determines the operations carried out on this account, the procedure for crediting and returning from metal accounts, as well as the size of remuneration related to account maintenance. Also, this contract must stipulate the conditions for changing the individual characteristics of precious metals, issuance from the account in physical form, and deviation of the mass (purity) of the precious metal listed on the account from the mass (purity) of the precious metal to be returned from this account in physical form.

2.9. All operations where preservation of individual characteristics of precious metals is an obligatory condition of the concluded contracts are carried out through safekeeping metal accounts.

Precious metals accepted from the client for storage are not attracted funds of the bank and cannot be placed by it in its own name and at its own expense.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

2.10. Services for the sale of precious metals may be provided on safekeeping metal accounts, when upon the client's instruction only the precious metals deposited by them must be sold. Accounting for transfers on safekeeping accounts is carried out necessarily in physical form.

2.11. Precious metals that have passed into the ownership of the bank as a result of the alienation of collateral must be sold in accordance with the legislation.

The bank has no right to carry out other operations with precious metals in the absence of permission from the bank to conduct operations with this type/form of precious metal.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

2.12. Import and export of precious metals from/to the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic with the consent of the authorized state body.

2.13. Commercial banks, when transporting precious metals, either at their own expense or at the client's expense, must ensure insurance of the transportation of precious metals appropriately. The transition of responsibility and ownership rights during transportation between the bank, its client, accompanying persons, and the carrier is determined by the corresponding contracts.

2.14. When transporting precious metals, measures must be taken to ensure the preservation of their external appearance, so that depressions and scratches do not form on the transported bars.

III. Organization of Internal Control for Operations with Precious Metals

3.1. To carry out operations with precious metals, banks are obliged to develop a corresponding risk management policy related to operations with precious metals and organize adequate internal control. For each of the operations carried out, corresponding procedures must be developed and approved.

3.2. The procedures must reflect, at a minimum, the following internal control measures:

3.2.1. Segregation of functional responsibilities of bank employees such that one employee cannot perform and/or control any process in full from the initiation of the transaction to its accounting in the accounting books.

3.2.2. Application of double control - for performing certain operations (actions) related to a high degree of risk, at least two employees are required.

3.2.3. Implementation of a clear system of authorization of the entire volume of operations conducted by the bank by corresponding authorized bank employees.

3.2.4. Conducting periodic planned and unexpected inventories of precious metals to determine the correspondence of accounting data to actual availability.

3.2.5. Restriction of access to assets or information by personnel who do not have the authority to do so. Protection against unauthorized access or unauthorized operations is ensured by security devices such as lockable safes, storage facilities, construction of special doors, installation of cameras, double control, management awareness, electronic protection, etc.

3.2.6. Establishment by the bank of internal limits for open positions in precious metals for each type of precious metal and in total for all types.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

3.2.7. Establishment of minimum requirements for information on the reliability of counterparties, depending on the nature and degree of risk of the operations performed and the category of the counterparty.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

3.2.8. Establishment of requirements for internal audit when conducting checks of operations with precious metals.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

3.2.9. Establishment of requirements for accounting and reporting on operations with precious metals for the bank and its branches.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

3.3. Assessment of banking risks for operations with precious metals in anonymous form is carried out by analogy with risks arising from operations with derivative financial instruments, and simultaneously taking into account the features that provide for the delivery of precious metals in physical form.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

IV. Limits for Operations with Precious Metals and Reporting

4.1. The calculation of limits for positions in precious metals is carried out similarly to the calculation of limits for positions in foreign currency.

4.2. The National Bank, for the purpose of regulating operations for the purchase and sale of precious metals, establishes limits for open positions in precious metals for commercial banks (for gold, silver, and platinum separately). In this regard, the currency position is calculated for each type of precious metal (gold, silver, and platinum) separately.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

4.3. Commercial banks on a daily basis submit to the National Bank a balance for each type of precious metal and information on compliance with position limits for precious metals, as part of the report on compliance with open currency position limits, in accordance with the Instruction "On the procedure for compliance with open currency position limits and open positions in precious metals by commercial banks in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic (1)."

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

4.4. The form and frequency of reporting by commercial banks to the authorized state body is established by the latter, and banks are obliged to strictly follow the requirements of the authorized body within the framework of current legislation.

4.5. For violation by a commercial bank of established limits, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has the right to apply impact measures in accordance with the Instruction "On the procedure for compliance with open currency position limits and open positions in precious metals by commercial banks in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

4.6. The National Bank has the right to exclude operations with precious metals from the list of permitted operations for the bank if the bank:

  • carries out operations with precious metals not specified in the list of permitted banking operations;
  • systematically (more than 2 times over consecutive 30 calendar days) violated the position limit for precious metals;
  • if the bank's activity in operations with precious metals has been unprofitable for the last two years;
  • if the commercial bank violates the capital adequacy ratio.

(1) approved by the Board Resolution of the National Bank No. 36/13 dated 29.12.2004, registration number of the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic 16-05 dated 01.02.2005.

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated June 8, 2017 No. 2017-P-12/23-10)

Appendix 1

to the Regulation on Commercial Bank Operations with Precious Metals

INTERNATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS

accepted by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)

Quality standards for precious metals accepted by the London Bullion Market Association are designated in the association's documents as the London good delivery standard.

  1. Gold bars of the London good delivery standard must meet the following requirements:

The mass of pure gold in the bar must be from 350 to 430 troy ounces (from 10886 g to 13375 g).

The weight of each bar must be expressed in troy ounces and be a multiple of 0.025 ounces.

The purity of the metal must be not lower than 995 parts of chemically pure gold per 1000 parts of ligature mass. As mandatory markings on the bar must be:

  • serial number;
  • purity;
  • manufacturer's mark;
  • year of manufacture of the bar.

The bar must not have pores, depressions, and other defects; it must be convenient for carrying and storage.

  1. Silver bars of the London good delivery standard must meet the following requirements:

The weight of the bar must be from 750 to 1100 troy ounces (from 23328 g to 34214 g).

The weight of each bar must be expressed in troy ounces and be a multiple of 0.10 ounces.

The purity of the metal must be not lower than 999 parts of chemically pure silver per 1000 parts of ligature mass.

As mandatory markings on the bar must be:

  • Serial number;
  • Purity;
  • Manufacturer's mark;
  • Weight in troy ounces or kilograms (the weight of the bar in kilograms must be converted to troy ounces and correspond to the aforementioned requirements).

The bar must have a correct shape, convenient for carrying and storage.

There must be no pores, depressions, and other defects on the surface of the bar. The edges of the bar must be straight and not sharp.

  1. Platinum bars (plates) of the London good delivery standard must meet the following requirements:

The weight of the bar must be from 32.150 to 192.904 troy ounces (from 1000 g to 6000 g).

The purity of the metal must be not lower than 999.5 parts of chemically pure metal per 1000 parts of ligature mass.

As mandatory markings on the bar must be:

  • Serial number;
  • Purity;
  • Letters PT or PLATINUM;
  • Manufacturer's mark;
  • Weight in grams or troy ounces.

The bar must have a correct shape, convenient for carrying and storage.

There must be no pores, depressions, and other defects on the bar; it must be convenient for carrying and storage.

The assaying firm stamping the mark on gold, platinum, and silver bars meeting the London good delivery standards must be included in the special LBMA list (List of Acceptable Melters and Assayers).

Appendix 2

to the Regulation on Commercial Bank Operations with Precious Metals

ALLOWABLE ERRORS

of weighing scales used

The allowable errors of weighing scales used must not exceed the following values (mg) (GOST 24104-88):

No.Maximum weighing limitFor 2nd class accuracy scalesFor 3rd class accuracy scales
Up to 200 mg inclusive0.015-
Over 200 mg up to 1 g inclusive0.025-
Over 1 g up to 2 g inclusive0.030-
Over 2 g up to 20 g inclusive0.1000.25
Over 20 g up to 50 g inclusive0.3000.50
Over 50 g up to 200 g inclusive0.7502.00
Over 200 g up to 500 g inclusive1.5005.00
Over 500 g up to 1 kg inclusive3.00010.00
Over 1 kg up to 2 kg inclusive7.50020.00
Over 2 kg up to 5 kg inclusive15.00050.00
Over 5 kg up to 10 kg inclusive30.000100.00
Over 10 kg up to 20 kg inclusive75.000200.00
Over 20 kg up to 50 kg inclusive150.000500.00

Weighing of gold and platinum is carried out with scales of at least the second class of accuracy, and silver - at least the third class of accuracy.

Appendix 2-1

to the Regulation on Commercial Bank Operations with Precious Metals

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

for equipment for rapid analysis of refined measure bars of precious metals

(As amended by the Board Resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated July 15, 2015 No. 38/1)

NamePurposeNote
X-ray fluorescence analyzerRapid analysis of the composition of measure bars and coins (determination of the percentage content of precious metal and impurities)Confirmation of the composition of a gold bar with a gold content of 99.99 with measurement to hundredths of a %
Specialized electronic scalesDetermination of the exact weight of precious metals (measure bars and coins)Class II (high) accuracy according to GOST 24104 with a measurement range from 0.02 g to 120 g

Appendix 3

to the Regulation on Commercial Bank Operations with Precious Metals

  1. Under the influence of geophysical and atmospheric factors and due to the design features of weighing instruments, their readings when weighing precious metal bars may differ from the readings of previous weighings of these valuables recorded in accounting or accompanying documents. The limits of weight discrepancies that may arise when weighing valuables are as follows:
Name of precious metalMass, gMaximum weighing limit, gAllowable weight discrepancies, g
Gold and platinum barsUp to 55005500-300000.1
300000.2
Silver bars20000-32000320001.0
32000-60000600001.0
  1. Weight discrepancies identified when weighing bars, within allowable norms between the readings of weighing instruments
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