The National Bank of Poland (NBP) increased its gold reserves by about 25 tonnes in September, to about 673 tonnes. To reach the 700-tonne target set by the bank’s management board, it still needs roughly 27 tonnes.
NBP President Adam Glapiński presented the end-September figures at a press conference on 8 October. As reported by PAP, and cited among others by Gazeta Prawna, the bank then held 672.9 tonnes of gold worth over PLN 348 billion. According to the central bank governor, unrealised revenue from the gold valuation amounts to over PLN 147 billion.
Glapiński noted that the data refers to the end of September, and that the vaults now hold "slightly more" gold. He added that the NBP is "very close" to reaching the target and already ranks among the ten countries with the largest gold holdings.
Scale of purchases
At the end of August, the NBP held about 648 tonnes of gold worth about PLN 344.7 billion. The September increase was therefore almost 25 tonnes. According to estimates by Bankier.pl, based on the NBP’s monthly reports on reserve assets and the LBMA fixing price, these were the largest monthly purchases in 19 months. The NBP reports the value of its gold in these reports rather than its weight, which is why earlier market estimates differed somewhat from the figures given at the press conference.
According to Bankier.pl, holdings have grown by more than 120 tonnes since the beginning of the year. The 700-tonne target was set by a decision of the NBP management board on 20 January. Earlier, the bank bought almost 102 tonnes in 2025, nearly 90 tonnes in 2024 and over 130 tonnes in 2023, according to Euronews.
Share of reserves
According to NBP data cited by Euronews, gold worth PLN 348.64 billion accounted for 30.7 percent of official reserve assets at the end of September, which totalled about PLN 1.135 trillion. On its website, the bank argues that gold is not the liability of any state or institution and carries no issuer credit risk. It is also meant to limit the concentration of reserves in other assets.
According to the NBP, Poland holds more gold than the European Central Bank. Once it reaches 700 tonnes, as Bankier.pl assesses, it could remain among the ten largest holders.
What it means
For the average reader, the purchases do not directly change prices or loan instalments. Gold serves as a safety buffer for reserves, and its value in zloty depends on the gold price and the dollar exchange rate. The rise in valuation that Glapiński referred to increases the bank’s asset value, but it is an unrealised gain, which only becomes real after a sale.
At the current pace (about 25 tonnes a month), the target could be reached within 1–2 months, but the NBP has not given a date or announced whether purchases will stop after 700 tonnes. The bank may speak about its next steps at subsequent press conferences following Monetary Policy Council (RPP) meetings. Meanwhile, a dispute over the composition of the NBP management board is also ongoing; we wrote about the nominations in our article on the president’s renewed motions concerning the NBP board.
