2025-10-13 | RESOLUCIÓN DE DIRECTORIO N° 130/2025

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Board Resolution No. 130/2025

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia authorizes the export of 251 gold bars, totaling approximately 2.68 tons (with an estimated 2.49 tons of fine gold), acquired in the domestic market to the United Arab Emirates for investment operations. This resolution permits the gold to be refined into London Good Delivery bars and deposited in the Central Bank's accounts in London to optimize international reserve yields. The International Operations Department is tasked with obtaining the necessary ministerial authorization from the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance to facilitate this exit from the national customs territory.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 130/2025

SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT – APPROVAL OF THE EXIT OF GOLD ACQUIRED IN THE DOMESTIC MARKET FROM THE NATIONAL CUSTOMS TERRITORY.

HAVING REVIEWED:

  • The Political Constitution of the State (CPE) of February 7, 2009.
  • Law No. 1670 of October 31, 1995 of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) and its modifications.
  • Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023 on the Purchase of Gold Intended for the Strengthening of International Reserves.
  • Supreme Decree No. 25870 of August 11, 2000, establishing the Regulations for the General Customs Law and its modifications.
  • The Statute of the BCB approved via Board Resolution No. 095/2022 of October 6, 2022.
  • The Regulations of the International Reserves Committee, approved via Board Resolution No. 017/2023 of January 25, 2023.
  • The Regulations for the Administration of International Reserves, approved by Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023 and its modifications.
  • The Regulations for 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, approved via Board Resolution No. 066/2024 of May 28, 2024 and its modifications.
  • Report BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2025-81 of October 8, 2025, issued by the International Operations Department (GOI).

//2. B.R. No. 130/2025

Report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2025-352 of October 13, 2025, issued by the Legal Affairs Department (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 internal purchasing power stability of the currency, to contribute to economic and social development, with 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, item 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, autarkic in 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 powers 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 normative rules 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 independent information, analysis, and audit services.

//3. B.R. No. 130/2025

  • That items a) and c) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670 indicate the following attributions of the Board of Directors: Issue the rules and adopt the general decisions that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and powers assigned to it by 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 aims to authorize 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 currency, 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 Regulations for 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 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) authorizing such operation.

//4. B.R. No. 130/2025

  • That items 1) and 3) of Article 5 of the BCB Statute provide that its Board of Directors has normative competence to issue specialized rules 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 purpose.
  • That items 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 rules that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and powers assigned to it by Law and to approve the policy and rules 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 via Resolutions. It may also do so via 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 Legal Affairs Department. These reports must be sent to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.
  • That item 5) of Article 6 of the Regulations 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 I of Article 18 of the Regulations for the Administration of International Reserves establish that the exit from the national customs territory of gold purchased locally to carry out investment operations will be

//5. B.R. No. 130/2025

approved via Board Resolution, establishing as authorized operations the purchase of gold and the sale of gold acquired in the domestic market among others.

  • That Article 25 of the Regulations for 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 via Board Resolution.
  • That report BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2025-81 concludes that with the objective of optimizing the composition of Gold Reserves, it is necessary to carry out investment operations with the bars described in the Annexes of the aforementioned report to obtain London Good Delivery bars, which will be deposited in the BCB's gold accounts in London. With 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 currency. The GOI plans to carry out investment operations with STONEX, a company that will deposit the London Good Delivery bars produced 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 251 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 2.68 tons, of which an estimated 2.49 tons of fine gold is derived, destined for the United Arab Emirates to carry out investment operations.
  • That report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2025-352 concludes that the GOI's request for approval of the exit from the national customs territory of gold acquired in the domestic market to carry out investment operations destined for the United Arab Emirates does not violate current regulations and is consistent with Law No. 1503, the Regulations for 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, the Regulations for the Administration of International Reserves, and the Framework Agreement for the Sale and Purchase of Precious Metals signed between the BCB and STONEX, therefore, it is legally procedent and viable for approval by the Board of Directors of the BCB.

//6. B.R. No. 130/2025

THEREFORE,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA

RESOLVES:

Article 1.- Approve the exit from the national customs territory of 251 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 2.68 tons, of which an estimated 2.49 tons of fine gold is derived, destined for the United Arab Emirates to carry out investment operations.

Article 2.- Authorize the investment operations of the gold resulting from the investment operation described in the preceding Article, in accordance with what is established in the Regulations 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, October 14, 2025

SIGNED. ROGER EDWIN ROJAS ULO, Gumerindo Héctor Pino Guzmán, Miguel Angel Marañon Urquidi, Victor Gonzalo Calisaya Gomez.

"2025 BICENTENARIO DE BOLIVIA"

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