Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/02/2013
When two weeks ago we exposed the heretofore secret location of JPM's London gold vault (located under the firm's massive L-shaped office complex at 60 Victoria Embankment) we thought: what about New York? After all, while London is the legacy financial capital of the "old world", it is New York that the biggest private wealth of the past century is concentrated, and it is also New York where the bulk of the hard assets backing the public money of the world's sovereigns are located, some 80 feet below ground level in the fifth sub-basement of the New York Fed, resting on the bedrock of Manhattan.
That the topic of the gold "held'' by the New York Fed - historically considered the gold vault with the largest concentration of gold bars in the world - has become rather sensitive, in the aftermath of the Bundesbank's request to repatriate it (surely, but very, very slowly), is an understatement. Yet in the aftermath of some of the revelations presented here, we believe quite a few other countries will follow in Germany's footsteps for one very simple reason: suddenly the question of whether their gold is located at 33 Liberty, or just adjacent to it, in what we have learned is the de facto largest gold vault in the world, located across the street 90 feet below 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, doesn't appear to have a clear answer.
But first, some background.
The location of New York's commercial vaults, like those of London, are closely guarded. While there is occasional anecdotal speculation of where one may find any given vault, a definitive answer is rarely if ever in the public domain. Luckily, the past few years, which saw a surge in the price of gold and silver, have provided a variety of useful clues, as one after another bank applied to have its legacy precious metal vault certified for commercial use with the CFTC.
For those who aren't easily discouraged, buried deep in the bowels of the CFTC's website, is a veritable goldmine of data, in the form of supplemental applications from assorted CME members, who one after another, and very quietly, had the CME provide supplements to the CFTC vouching for their approval as "licensed depositories and weighmasters for gold, silver, platinum and palladium."
For those curious (and that should be all who are interested by the precious metals space) what constitutes an approvable vault, we present the fully filed supplement application by Brinks (recently best known for having two of its armored cars captured in a Google Streetview snapshot just outside the JPM office at 60 Victoria Embankment) filed with the CFTC:
Another such supplement was filed by the Bank of Nova Scotia's Scotia Mocatta. What many may not know is that it was Scotia Mocatta's vault that was destroyed in the events of September 11, as SM's vault was located deep beneath 4 WTC. From the application:
Just in case the gold has to take off rather quickly we assume.
And since both of these applications also contained an official list of licensed "depositories and weighmasters" we finally can compile a full, official list of where the largest commercial gold vaults in New York are located:
We now know that in addition to Brink's vault lying on the bedrock at 580 Fifth, the following gold vaults are located as follows:
HSBC Bank USA
1 West 39th St.
SC 2 Level
New York, NY
Manfra, Tordella, & Brookes
90 Broad St.
Sub-Basement
New York, NY
Scotia Mocatta Depository, a Division of the Bank of Novia Scotia
230-59 Int'l Airport Center Blvd. 3002
Building C, Ste. 120
Jamaica, NY
Yet one name is missing. The same name which as we reported back in October 2010, reopened its undisclosed New York gold vault after it had been "mothballed in the 1990s."
The name of course is JPMorgan...More from ZH
When two weeks ago we exposed the heretofore secret location of JPM's London gold vault (located under the firm's massive L-shaped office complex at 60 Victoria Embankment) we thought: what about New York? After all, while London is the legacy financial capital of the "old world", it is New York that the biggest private wealth of the past century is concentrated, and it is also New York where the bulk of the hard assets backing the public money of the world's sovereigns are located, some 80 feet below ground level in the fifth sub-basement of the New York Fed, resting on the bedrock of Manhattan.
That the topic of the gold "held'' by the New York Fed - historically considered the gold vault with the largest concentration of gold bars in the world - has become rather sensitive, in the aftermath of the Bundesbank's request to repatriate it (surely, but very, very slowly), is an understatement. Yet in the aftermath of some of the revelations presented here, we believe quite a few other countries will follow in Germany's footsteps for one very simple reason: suddenly the question of whether their gold is located at 33 Liberty, or just adjacent to it, in what we have learned is the de facto largest gold vault in the world, located across the street 90 feet below 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, doesn't appear to have a clear answer.
But first, some background.
The location of New York's commercial vaults, like those of London, are closely guarded. While there is occasional anecdotal speculation of where one may find any given vault, a definitive answer is rarely if ever in the public domain. Luckily, the past few years, which saw a surge in the price of gold and silver, have provided a variety of useful clues, as one after another bank applied to have its legacy precious metal vault certified for commercial use with the CFTC.
For those who aren't easily discouraged, buried deep in the bowels of the CFTC's website, is a veritable goldmine of data, in the form of supplemental applications from assorted CME members, who one after another, and very quietly, had the CME provide supplements to the CFTC vouching for their approval as "licensed depositories and weighmasters for gold, silver, platinum and palladium."
For those curious (and that should be all who are interested by the precious metals space) what constitutes an approvable vault, we present the fully filed supplement application by Brinks (recently best known for having two of its armored cars captured in a Google Streetview snapshot just outside the JPM office at 60 Victoria Embankment) filed with the CFTC:
The application submitted by Brink's, Inc. and Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. for licensing its facility at 580 5th Ave., New York, NY for storage of the respective NYMEX and COMEX Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium contracts meets the requirements of the Exchanges.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brink's Inc. The Brink's Company, which owns Brink's Inc., was founded as Brink's City Express in Chicago in 1859, and has been in operation for 150 years. Currently, it is based in Richmond, Virginia. Starting as an armored transportation service, it evolved to expand its operations to include precious metals storage in the late 1990s. Brink's has been operating Licensed Depositories approved to store precious metals against the Exchanges' Futures Contracts for 10 years. Brink's international network operates about 875 facilities and services customers in over 50 countries. It is estimated that it employs approximately 59,400 employees.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF APPLICANT
Office Location
Brink's Inc. and Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. Suit400
580 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Vault Location
Brink's Inc.
580 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
LEASE/VAULT CLASSIFICATION/INSPECTION
Exchange staff inspected the facility at 580 5th Ave., New York, NY on Thursday, June 17, 2010, which is owned by Forty Seventh Fifth Company, LLC. Brink's Inc. is the Tenant in the signed copy of the Lease Agreement, entered into on November 9, 1992, that was provided to the Exchange. There are 5,000 square feet of space available, enclosed by four steel reinforced cinder block walls with a concrete ceiling and concrete floor on top of bedrock.
The interior of the facility is divided into several work areas, including a 752 square foot, modular vault capable of housing one million ounces of gold, platinum, and palladium, and an additional two million ounces of silver. The no floor vault solution is surface mounted to the existing basement slab which is described as bedrock.
The walls and ceiling-grid carry a U.L. Class-3 designation which is torch and tool resistant. The vault is equipped with one U.L. listed Class-3 oversized vault door offering a clear opening of 52"wide x 78" high. Custom Vault Corporation has certified that the existing vault system at 580 5th Ave., New York, NY meets all current U.L. listings as a Class-3 five-sided structure. It has also certified that all modular components (the modular vault panel components were manufactured by International Vault, Inc.) of the system have passed testing in accordance with the U.L. "Burglary Resistant Vault Doors" and "Modular Panels" standards.
Cameras, motion detectors, and entry way alarms are installed throughout the interior and exterior access points. The activity is monitored 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Access from exterior points to interior spaces is limited by the use of biometric proximity readers that record all activity. A majority of employees assigned to the area are licensed to carry Brink's issued firearms. The Depository employs Metler Toledo SG32001DR high precision self calibrating balances. The scales weigh to a tolerance of 1/1000th of a troy ounce, and meet all of the Exchange's requirementsThus we know where at least one of the world's largest precious metals depositories is located: deep underground the Diamond Tower located in the heart of Manhattan's jewelry district.
Another such supplement was filed by the Bank of Nova Scotia's Scotia Mocatta. What many may not know is that it was Scotia Mocatta's vault that was destroyed in the events of September 11, as SM's vault was located deep beneath 4 WTC. From the application:
The Bank of Nova Scotia’s Scotia Mocatta Depositary (SMD) is an Exchange-licensed depository for Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium. SMD has submitted applications, requesting that a new facility, located at International Airport Center, 230-59 International Airport Center Boulevard, Building C, Suite 120, Jamaica, New York, be approved for the storage of gold and silver deliverable against the COMEX Gold and Silver Futures Contracts, and for the storage of platinum and palladium against the NYMEX Platinum and Palladium futures contracts.So Scotia Mocatta's place for a new vault is deep in Queens under what is described as a "two-story elevatored building located in a four building industrial park, Located within close proximity to JFK International Airport."
History: The Bank of Nova Scotia, doing business as SMD, is an Exchange Licensed Depository for the storage of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and its current facility is located in Manhattan at 26 Broadway. SMD was previously known as Iron Mountain Depository (IMD), its name was changed when it was acquired by the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1997. The IMD/SMD facility has been a COMEX licensed delivery point since 1975. SMD has planned to develop a new facility since the terrorist attacks upon the World Trade Center, which destroyed SMD’s facility at 4 WTC. SM subsequently returned to its existing and former facility as an intermediate measure while the new facility was designed and built.
In evaluating this application, SMD’s performance in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center must be noted. SMD’s Licensed Depository was located in a sub-basement of the WTC at the time of the attacks. When the material in this facility was trapped within the debris, SMD acted swiftly, offering to purchase any and all of the warranted material that was buried at the request of any holder of warrants to this material. Scotia further prepared to make replacement material stored in Canada available to offset any potential supply shortage that the destruction of its WTC facility might have caused.
Just in case the gold has to take off rather quickly we assume.
And since both of these applications also contained an official list of licensed "depositories and weighmasters" we finally can compile a full, official list of where the largest commercial gold vaults in New York are located:
We now know that in addition to Brink's vault lying on the bedrock at 580 Fifth, the following gold vaults are located as follows:
HSBC Bank USA
1 West 39th St.
SC 2 Level
New York, NY
Manfra, Tordella, & Brookes
90 Broad St.
Sub-Basement
New York, NY
Scotia Mocatta Depository, a Division of the Bank of Novia Scotia
230-59 Int'l Airport Center Blvd. 3002
Building C, Ste. 120
Jamaica, NY
Yet one name is missing. The same name which as we reported back in October 2010, reopened its undisclosed New York gold vault after it had been "mothballed in the 1990s."
The name of course is JPMorgan...More from ZH
