Custodial Storage
Bullion Custodial Services Inc. (BCS) offers custodial storage services in Toronto, New York City and Hong Kong. This allows owners of precious metals purchased under the BMG BullionBars program to safely store their bullion in a secure and insured vault, with The Bank of Nova Scotia acting as custodian.
All bars purchased from BCS meet industry good delivery standards. This means that all BMG BullionBars meet minimum quality and size standards set out in various good delivery specifications. For example, the 400-ounce gold bars and the 1000-ounce silver bars meet the good delivery standards of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the pre-eminent bullion marketing association in the world. These industry standards allow members to transact and transport physical bullion with each other without the need to verify purity, weight and other bar specifications. This allows bar owners, should they so choose, to sell their bullion into the most liquid precious metals markets worldwide.
Precious metals bars that meet these good delivery standards are kept within what is called a chain of integrity, where member dealers, refiners and custodians can rest assured that the bars have never left the system. BCS will not accept bullion from clients who are not part of this system because we would not know, without an assay, if, a counterfeit bar was being passed off as a legitimate bar. The chain of integrity ensures that all bars held by authorized custodians are only good delivery bars, without compromise or chance of counterfeit bars entering the system.
BCS clients who opt for custodial storage may inspect their bars in special viewing rooms in the Toronto and New York City vaults, after making arrangements with BCS and completing certain security procedures.
Bullion Delivery
BCS offers delivery services to most cities and towns in the developed world through Brink’s and other carriers. Bars can be purchased directly for delivery, and can be delivered out of custodial storage at any time. The charges for armoured car delivery vary substantially depending upon the distance from the client’s BCS vault location to their desired delivery location, and the value of the bars being delivered. Delivery charges are typically one to three percent of the bars’ value, and clients are required to have three percent of bar value in their BCS account to cover delivery charges. Clients must provide a commercial address for delivery, as Brink’s will not deliver to residential addresses.
Once bars leave the vault they will no longer qualify as good delivery bars. To liquidate them in the future will involve re-assaying, with the associated delays and costs.
