WGC and LBMA Launch Joint HQLA Website

World Gold Council and LBMA have launched a joint HQLA website to support the case for gold being recognised as a High-Quality Liquid Asset under Basel III, arguing that gold meets the criteria for Level One HQLA. The push is positioned as a regulatory reform effort that could materially improve gold’s standing in prudential liquidity frameworks, with clear implications for official and institutional demand over time. LBMA says the initiative is backed by transparent research and data, and frames gold’s HQLA treatment as relevant not just to the bullion sector but to broader financial stability. The group specifically cites the COVID-19 period and the 2023 US banking stress as examples of why liquid, high-quality collateral options matter in future systemic liquidity events. For the desk, this is a longer-dated policy/capital-markets catalyst rather than an immediate price trigger, but it keeps gold in the conversation as a reserve-quality asset and potential balance-sheet instrument. Any progress toward wider regulatory recognition would be supportive for allocation flows, especially if banks, insurers, or sovereign institutions begin to treat gold more explicitly as qualifying liquid collateral.