2025-04-07 | RESOLUCIÓN DE DIRECTORIO N° 050/2025Added · Updated
The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia authorizes the export of 155 gold bars, weighing approximately 1.67 tons (with an estimated 1.57 tons of fine gold) acquired in the domestic market, to the United Arab Emirates for investment purposes. This approval permits the conversion of these bars into London Good Delivery bars to optimize the composition and returns of the Central Bank's international reserves. The International Operations Department is tasked with obtaining the necessary ministerial resolution from the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance to facilitate this exit from the national customs territory.
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT – APPROVE THE EXIT OF GOLD ACQUIRED IN THE DOMESTIC MARKET FROM THE NATIONAL CUSTOMS TERRITORY.
//2. B.R. No. 050/2025
That Articles 327 and 328 of the Political Constitution of the State 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 one of its attributions, 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 Property and Popular 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. Regarding this, it constitutes 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 Articles 15 and 16 of Law No. 1670 provide that the BCB's Reserves are constituted, among others, by physical gold and that said Reserves are administered and managed by the Issuing Entity, which may invest them and deposit them in custody, as well as dispose of and pledge them, in the manner it considers most appropriate for the fulfillment of its object and functions and for their adequate safeguarding and security. In the case of gold reserves, they will also be governed by the specific law.
//3. B.R. No. 050/2025
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 administrative, operational, and financial strategies of the BCB, 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.
That subsections a) and c) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670, indicate as attributions of the BCB Board of Directors, 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 policies and regulations, and others 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 to Strengthen International Reserves and to carry out financial operations with International Reserves in gold in international markets.
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 currency, in order to optimize the liquidity and/or return of International Reserves.
That Article 185 of Supreme Decree No. 25870, 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 current Ministry of Economy and Public Finance (MEFP) to authorize such operation.
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That numeral 3) of Article 5 of the BCB Statute provides that its Board of Directors has technical competence for the formulation of policies and the application of instruments that allow it to fulfill its object.
That numerales 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, approve the policy and norms for the administration of International Reserves as well as 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 Department or Departments to which the subject matter of the Resolution corresponds and by a report from the GAL. These reports must be sent to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.
That numeral 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 Board of Directors.
That Paragraph VI of Article 11 of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves establishes that the exit from the national customs territory of gold purchased locally, to carry out investment operations, will be approved by Board Resolution.
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That Article 18 of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves establishes that among the investment operations and instruments is the Purchase of Gold.
That Articles 1 and 3 of the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, establish that its object is to establish the Regulation of Law No. 1503 and the requirements for the Purchase of Gold in any of its forms and states, in the domestic market by the BCB, intended to strengthen International Reserves. Likewise, the purpose of the aforementioned Regulation is to regulate and establish the mechanisms and formalities for the Purchase of Gold within the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves and to define the requirements to commercialize gold with the BCB.
That Articles 25 and 26 of the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, provide that the exit of gold from the national customs territory for the purpose of refining abroad will be approved by Board Resolution; as well as the GOI will process the Ministerial Resolution that authorizes the exit of gold from the national customs territory before the MEFP.
That report BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2025-30, concludes that with the objective of optimizing the composition of Gold Reserves, it corresponds to carry out investment operations with the gold bars (155 bars) to obtain London Good Delivery Bars, which will be deposited in the BCB's gold accounts in London. Since with said London Good Delivery Bars, the GOI can improve the returns of International Reserves through international financial operations, being able, among others, to invest, deposit, and convert gold into foreign currency, considering carrying out investment operations with STONEX, a company that will deposit the produced London Good Delivery Bars in the BCB's gold accounts in London, it is necessary to approve the exit from the national customs territory of 155 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 1.67 tons, of which an estimated 1.57 tons of fine gold is derived, destined to the United Arab Emirates to carry out investment operations.
//6. B.R. No. 050/2025
Article 1.- Approve the exit from the national customs territory of 155 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 1.67 tons, of which an estimated 1.57 tons of fine gold is derived, destined to the United Arab Emirates.
Article 2.- Authorize the investment operations described in the preceding Article, in accordance with what is established in the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves.
Article 3.- The International Operations Department 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 in charge of the execution and compliance of this Resolution.
La Paz, April 8, 2025
SIGNED. ROGER EDWIN ROJAS ULO, Gumercindo Héctor Pino Guzmán, Miguel Angel Marañón Urquidi, Victor Gonzalo Calisaya Gomez.
"2025 BICENTENARIO OF BOLIVIA"
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