An Open Letter to the Good People of Switzerland: Your Gold is Gone!

就連瑞士的實金都不保啦, 只因為加入IMF的後果 !

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By T. Ferguson, TFMetals Report:
As recently as 1996, the Swiss Franc was considered “good as gold”. Why was this the case? Since the early 20th century, the Swiss Franc had offered a reserve backing of gold. This uniquely sound currency had given the country of Switzerland considerable financial power and independence, yet, at the urging of their politicians and central bankers, the Swiss willingly forfeited this enviable position.
The demise of the Franc and Swiss sovereignty began in 1992 when the Swiss made the fateful decision to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s Articles of Agreement (Article IV, Sec 2b) clearly state that no member country can have a currency linked to gold and, as such, Switzerland immediately set out on a course to de-link the Franc from gold. Just four short years later, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss government had formed a plan to eliminate the Franc’s gold backing and, in March of 1997, a revision of the Nationalbank Act was passed and all links of gold to the Franc were removed. Further, since the Swiss constitution mandated sound money, it had to be amended, too. Thus, in a hastily organized vote, a new Swiss constitution was approved in May of 2000. (http://www.efd.admin.ch/dokumentation/medieninformationen/archiv/00382/index.html?lang=en) This served to finally and permanently sever the Franc’s gold backing and initiated the Swiss into the world of global fiat currency.
The SNB has spent the 14 years since leasing and re-leasing the country’s gold reserves. In 1999, the SNB reported gold reserves of 2,590 metric tonnes. The most current ”audit” of SNB reserves showed just 1,040 metric tonnes of gold remaining on the balance sheet and I believe that none of this is actual, physical gold. Instead, what the SNB holds are paper claims and promissory notes. The remaining 1,040 tonnes has been sold and re-sold into the marketplace by greedy bullion banks, intent upon suppressing price through the leverage of paper metal futures contracts and rehypothecation. In other words, the “gold” that the SNB claims to hold/own on behalf of the Swiss people is gone. This makes the Swiss people just another bagholder, certain to be left in line wanting with all of the other holders of unallocated accounts when the fractional reserve bullion banking system inevitably collapses.
Furthermore, I’ve come to the conclusion that it was this last bit of Swiss gold that was utilized to suppress and manipulate price away from the alltime highs of September 2011. What makes me think this? Let’s start with a history lesson…
Again, the Swiss officially forfeited their birthright of national independence and sovereignty when they joined the IMF in 1992. Then, by formally de-linking the Franc from gold in 2000, they accepted full membership into the clique of fiat currencies. Regardless, and perhaps just by tradition, the Swiss Franc was still considered a “safe haven” currency as late as 2011. But that’s when things got out of hand.
You recall 2011, don’t you? Under the weight of $600B worth of QE2, the U.S. Dollar Index was collapsing. From a high near 90 in mid-2010, it had fallen to near 73 by the spring of 2011. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. fiscal situation began to wobble as “Debt Ceiling” negotiations took place in Washington and the U.S. credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s. The ensuing political rancor drove gold from $1500 to $1900 in eight weeks. Also catching a bid in this “safe haven” trade was the Swiss Franc and, in the summer of 2011, it also rallied over 20%.
“We can’t have this!“, screamed the Swiss Keynesians. “Something must be done or our export-driven economy will suffer“, they warned. So what happened next? The SNB went ALL IN.
In the wee hours of Tuesday, September 6, 2011, the SNB announced a permanent and horrific change to the Swiss currency. Henceforth, the Franc would be linked/pegged to the Euro. No more safe haven bid. No more national sovereignty. Going forward, the Swiss were all in. Their fortunes had been officially tied to the fortunes of the European Union, for better or for worse. At this point, there was no further reason to holdany gold in reserve. Why would the Swiss need it? Their currency was now officially fiat and it’s value was permanently pegged to another fiat, the Euro. What purpose would gold serve going forward? As the Keynesians say, it had become “a barbarous relic”.