The board of directors of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) is considering the possibility of keeping some of the gold reserves, which are part of the international reserves, in foreign banks, so that they can be readily cashable, if necessary.

BCV sources said that the number of gold ingots that will be brought to Venezuela and the gold bars that will remain in foreign financial institutions have not yet been determined, following the order issued by President Hugo Chávez.

Venezuela has a total of 211.35 tons of gold -amounting to USD 11.06 billion- in foreign financial institutions such as the Bank of England, the Swiss Bank of International Settlements, Barclays Capital and HSBC.

The government has said that it is necessary to transfer a portion of Venezuelan gold holdings to its vaults at the BCV, as a security measure amidst the financial instability hitting Europe and the United States.

At the same time, the BCV is weighing the possibility to withdraw a part of the cash reserves of Venezuela's international reserves, which are held in European and US banks due to the risk faced by those institutions in view of a possible default by the Euro-region countries.

Venezuela has USD 407 million in BNP Paribas; USD 1.12 billion n Barclays, USD 616 million in JP Morgan and USD 43 million in Deutsche Bank.