The World Gold Council (WGC) and the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) have launched a joint High-Quality Liquid Asset (HQLA) website, intensifying efforts to position gold within the Basel III liquidity framework.
The platform consolidates research, data, and market analysis to support the case for gold’s inclusion as a Level 1 HQLA. The initiative builds on recent findings that show gold exhibits key HQLA characteristics, including strong liquidity, stable pricing, and resilience during market stress.
According to the underlying research, gold’s trading volumes, bid-ask spreads, and volatility have, at times, matched or outperformed US Treasuries, which are currently classified as Level 1 HQLAs.
Despite this, gold remains excluded from Basel III liquidity buffers and is assigned an 85% Required Stable Funding (RSF) factor, limiting its treatment as a cash-equivalent asset.
WGC and LBMA said the new website aims to present a clear, evidence-backed case for revisiting gold’s regulatory classification, highlighting its role as a globally recognised, liquid, and credit-risk-free asset suited for stress scenarios.