– Nigel Doolin, Head of Trading at Core Bullion Traders.
The London Bullion Market Association – known simply as The LBMA – was established in 1987. It is the international trade association representing the global Over The Counter (OTC) bullion market, and defines itself as “the global authority on precious metals”. At time of writing it has a membership of approximately 150 firms globally, including traders, refiners, producers, miners, fabricators, as well as those providing storage and secure carrier services.
The LBMA is also responsible for the regulation of such areas as refining standards, trading practices, and the certification of the bullion used to make gold and silver bars and coins for investment.
The Gold Fix
As the leading authority on the gold and silver markets, the LBMA holds the intellectual property rights to the silver and gold fixes which are set twice a day. A common trading price is set in pounds (GBP) sterling, dollars (USD) and euros (EUR) by the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) at 10:30 GMT and then once more at 15:00 GMT. This electronic method, launched in 2015, replaced the ‘London Gold Fix’ process that had been running since 1919.
Click here to find out more about the London Gold Fix.
LBMA Membership
The London Bullion Market Association is made up of more than one hundred and fifty companies around the world with connections to the London gold and silver markets. Traders, brokers, refiners, mining companies and assaying companies are just some of the types of companies that comprise the membership of the LBMA.
LBMA Good Delivery List
All gold investors need to be assured of the quality of their gold bars and their investment gold should meet the ‘Good Delivery’ standards set by the LBMA.
The LBMA Good Delivery List is a regularly reviewed list of gold refiners whose adherence to the industry standards has been acknowledged by the LBMA. It is widely accepted as the point of reference when looking for a creditable, high quality gold refiner. Gold refiners on this list ensure that there are no purity issues with their gold, there is no ‘conflict-gold’ used in their refinery and there is no place for slave-labour within their refinery or supply chain. The adherence to these (and many other) standards and rules, essentially means that all LBMA Approved Refineries will produce the same quality (and value) gold bars and products.
As Core Bullion Traders only trade in LBMA approved refinery gold, this means that any gold bullion bar or gold coin you buy from us is guaranteed to meet the gold industry’s highest standards.
Core Bullion Traders guarantee this by using our in-house, 8 level testing set-up to verify all gold which comes through our facility. This state-of-the-art, 8 level testing set-up is one of the most comprehensive testing systems available in Ireland, indeed the only facility which can test gold more precisely than Core Bullion Traders is the Assay Office at Dublin Castle.
LBMA Good Delivery Rules
The LBMA’s Good Delivery Rules are considered the international regulatory standard for gold and silver bullion.
Governance of the LBMA Good Delivery Rules is overseen by the LBMA Physical Committee. The committee is made up of industry experts from the main sectors of the physical bullion market. It is responsible for monitoring, developing and protecting the Good Delivery List. Meeting approximately once a month the committee also ensures that standards are maintained, with an emphasis on continuous improvement and market transparency.
Nigel Doolin is Head of Trading at Core Bullion Traders – A gold trading company based in Dublin, Ireland – he can be contacted directly at: nigel@corebulliontraders.ie or Tel: +353 (0)1 447 5975
