2025-03-10 | RESOLUCIÓN DE DIRECTORIO N° 032/2025Added · Updated
The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia authorizes the export of 89 gold bars, weighing approximately 0.98 tons (estimated 0.93 tons of fine gold), acquired in the domestic market to Turkey for external refining. This resolution permits the subsequent investment operations of the refined gold in accordance with the Regulations for the Administration of International Reserves. The International Operations Management is tasked with obtaining the necessary ministerial resolution from the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance to facilitate the exit of the gold from the national customs territory.
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT – APPROVE THE EXIT OF GOLD ACQUIRED IN THE DOMESTIC MARKET FROM THE NATIONAL CUSTOMS TERRITORY.
VIEWED:
//2. B.R. No. 032/2025
The report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2025-73 of March 10, 2025, issued by the Legal Affairs Management (GAL).
CONSIDERING:
That Articles 327 and 328 of the CPE determine that the BCB is a public law institution, with legal personality and its own assets, which, within the framework of the State's economic policy, has the function of maintaining the stability of the internal purchasing power of the currency, to contribute to economic and social development, being its attribution, in coordination with the economic policy determined by the Executive Branch, to administer International Reserves.
That Article 1 of Law No. 1670, modified by Article 64, section A3, numeral 1) of Law No. 1864 of June 15, 1998 on Popular Property and Credit, establishes that the BCB is a State institution, of public law, of an autarkic nature, of indefinite duration, with legal personality and its own assets and with legal domicile in the city of La Paz. It is the sole monetary and exchange authority of the country, with administrative, technical, and financial competence and specialized normative faculties of general application.
That Article 14 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the BCB will ensure the strengthening of International Reserves so as to allow the normal functioning of Bolivia's international payments.
That Article 15 of Law No. 1670 provides that the BCB's International Reserves are constituted, among others, by physical gold.
That Article 44 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the highest authority of the BCB is its Board of Directors, which is responsible for defining its policies, specialized norms of general application, and internal rules; as well as establishing the BCB's administrative, operational, and financial strategies, approving their respective short and medium-term programs. For the monitoring and oversight of their execution, it will have access to information, independent analysis, and audit services.
//3. B.R. No. 032/2025
That subsections a) and c) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670 indicate as attributions of the Board of Directors the following: To issue norms and adopt general decisions that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and faculties assigned to it by the Law and to carry out the monitoring of the execution of monetary, exchange, credit, financial intermediation, international reserves administration, and other policies and regulations corresponding to the BCB in accordance with Law No. 1670.
That Article 1 of Law No. 1503 has the object of authorizing the BCB to Purchase Gold from the Domestic Market for the Strengthening of International Reserves and to carry out financial operations with International Reserves in gold in international markets.
That Paragraph I of Article 7 of Law No. 1503 provides that once the gold purchase process is concluded and total settlement has been made in the domestic market, the BCB may refine the gold abroad to obtain the quality of Good Delivery bars and, in accordance with regulations, regulate the exit from the national customs territory.
That Paragraph I of Article 9 of the aforementioned Law No. 1503 establishes that the BCB will carry out operations in international markets with gold reserves, being able to buy, invest, deposit in custody, use in hedging instruments, transform, and convert them into foreign exchange, in order to optimize the liquidity and/or return of International Reserves.
That Article 185 of Supreme Decree No. 25870 of August 11, 2000, of the Regulation of the General Customs Law and its modifications, establishes that the exit from the national customs territory of International Reserves, composed of convertible currencies and gold, by virtue of operations carried out by the BCB with international financial organizations and other institutions abroad, derived from its central banking functions or that are carried out to facilitate payment and credit operations, must be carried out in accordance with applicable legal provisions and prior presentation of the Resolution of the Ministry (currently the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance) that authorizes such operation.
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That subsections 1) and 3) of Article 5 of the BCB Statute provide that its Board of Directors has normative competence to issue specialized norms in the fields assigned by Law and technical competence for the formulation of policies and the application of instruments that allow it to fulfill its object.
That subsections 1) and 6) of Article 10 of the BCB Statute provide that the Board of Directors has the attributions to approve general decisions and issue the norms that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and faculties assigned to it by the Law and to approve the policy and norms for the administration of International Reserves, as well as to carry out the monitoring of their execution.
That Paragraph I of Article 24 of said norm provides that the Resolutions and decisions of the Board of Directors are adopted by a simple majority of votes of its members present in a meeting, except in cases where Law No. 1670 or the BCB Statute require qualified majorities.
That Article 26 of the BCB Statute stipulates that the Board of Directors pronounces itself on matters within its competence through Resolutions. It may also do so through decisions that will be expressly recorded in the Minutes. Likewise, every draft Board Resolution must be motivated and justified by a technical report from the Management or Managements to whom the subject matter of the Resolution corresponds and by a report from the Legal Affairs Management. These reports must be sent to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.
That subsection 5) of Article 6 of the Regulation of the International Reserves Committee establishes, among others, as a function of the Committee to propose the treatment that will be applied to International Reserve investments in case of immediate liquidity requirement, to recommend to the BCB.
That Paragraph VI of Article 11 and Paragraph II of Article 18 of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves establish that the exit from the national customs territory of locally purchased gold to carry out investment operations will be approved by Board Resolution, establishing as an authorized operation the purchase of gold.
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That Article 25 of the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended for the Strengthening of International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, provides that the exit of gold from the national customs territory for the purpose of refining abroad will be approved by Board Resolution.
That the report BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2025-22 concludes that with the objective of optimizing the composition of Gold Reserves, it corresponds to refine the bars described in the report to obtain London Good Delivery Bars, which will be deposited in the BCB's gold accounts in London. With the London Good Delivery Bars, the GOI can improve the returns of International Reserves through international financial operations with Gold Reserves, being able, among other things, to invest, deposit, and convert gold into foreign exchange. The GOI plans to refine the gold acquired in the domestic market with IGR, a company that will deposit the produced London Good Delivery Bars in the BCB's gold accounts in London. For the foregoing, it corresponds to the Board of Directors of the BCB to approve the exit from the national customs territory of 89 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 0.98 tons, of which an estimated 0.93 tons of fine gold is derived, destined for Turkey for the purpose of refining abroad.
That the report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2025-73 concludes that the approval of the exit from the national customs territory of 89 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 0.98 tons, of which an estimated 0.93 tons of fine gold is derived, destined for Turkey for the purpose of refining abroad and the carrying out of investment operations does not violate current regulations and is consistent with Law No. 1503 on the Purchase of Gold Intended for the Strengthening of International Reserves, the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended for the Strengthening of International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, and the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves, being legally procedent, making its approval by the Board of Directors of the BCB viable.
THEREFORE,
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA
RESOLVES:
//6. B.R. No. 032/2025
Article 1.- Approve the exit from the national customs territory of 89 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 0.98 tons, of which an estimated 0.93 tons of fine gold is derived, destined for Turkey for the purpose of refining abroad.
Article 2.- Authorize the investment operations of the gold resulting from the refining indicated in the preceding Article, in accordance with what is established in the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves.
Article 3.- The International Operations Management will process the Ministerial Resolution that authorizes the exit of gold from the national customs territory before the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance.
Article 4.- The Presidency and the General Management are charged with the execution and compliance of this Resolution.
La Paz, March 11, 2025
SIGNED. ROGER EDWIN ROJAS ULO, Gumersindo Héctor Pino Guzmán, Miguel Angel Marañón Urquidi, Víctor Gonzalo Calisaya Gomez.
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