ICBC Buys Barclay's London Gold Vault

Bloomberg: China’s ICBC Buys 2,000-Ton London Gold Vault From Barclays

ICBC Standard, formed last year after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. -- China’s biggest bank -- bought a controlling stake in Standard Bank Plc’s global markets business, expects the purchase of the vaulting business and related contracts to be completed in July, it said in an e-mailed statement Monday. No financial details were given.

About $5 trillion of transactions are cleared every year in London’s gold market, which Barclays is exiting as it pulls out of precious metals. ICBC Standard last week joined the city’s precious-metals clearing system and last month won classification as a market maker by the London Bullion Market Association.