A CAMPAIGN to see Switzerland repatriate all its Gold Bullion held abroad is close to hitting its target of collecting 100,000 signatures as part of an attempt to trigger a referendum on the issue, according to Swiss press reports.

The Gold Initiative is calling for an end to sales of Gold Bullion by the Swiss National Bank, the storage of Swiss gold in Switzerland, and for gold to make up at least 20% of the central bank's assets.

Switzerland currently holds 1040.1 tonnes of gold, 11% of its total reserves, according to the latest figures published by the World Gold Council.

One suggestion being made is that the SNB could use its large reserves of Euros to Buy Gold. In September 2011 the SNB pegged the Swiss Franc top the Euro, arguing that its own currency was too strong, and promised to create "unlimited" amounts of Francs in order to buy Euros and maintain the peg.

The Gold Initiative has until March to collect the 100,000 signatures. The campaign is similar to one in Germany that recently saw the Bundesbank announce repatriation of some of its gold reserves.

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