For decades, the idea that Germany’s gold reserves – some of the largest in the world – might not be safe in the vaults of the New York Federal Reserve would have seemed like the stuff of conspiracy theories. But as the political landscape shifts in Washington – and questions have been raised as to what’s actually in US vaults, some German lawmakers are beginning to wonder aloud: Is their gold still secure? Germany holds the second-largest hoard of gold on the planet, surpassed only by the United States itself. Roughly 37 percent of that treasure – some 1,236 metric tons, currently valued at around €113 billion – supposedly lies deep beneath the streets of Manhattan, stored with America’s central bank. For decades, the arrangement was seen as a prudent hedge, offering Germany immediate access to dollar liquidity in the event of a crisis. Now, some in Berlin are rethinking that assumption. “Of course, the question now arises again,” Marco Wanderwitz, an outgoing lawmaker from the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told the German tabloid Bild (owned by POLITICO parent company Axel Springer) last week. Wanderwitz has long harbored doubts about the wisdom of keeping such a significant portion of the country’s wealth abroad. In 2012, he […]