Robert Lambourne: BIS obscures cause of January plunge in silver

By Robert Lambourne Wednesday, March 18, 2026 In its quarterly report, published this week -- https://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt2603.pdf -- the Bank for International Settlements refers to the sharp decline in silver prices at the end of January. The report suggests that the price decline was caused by over-leveraged retail investors who held long positions in silver exchange-traded funds ETF and long positions on futures exchanges.  See Box C of the report on Page 15. What the BIS report does not highlight, yet it is mentioned in an extract below, is the increases in margin requirements for silver contracts that futures exchanges implemented at the time. ... Dispatch continues below ... ... ADVERTISEMENT ... Ultra-Secure Swiss Vault Storage from Tara Gold and Silver Ltd. Tara Gold is delighted to announce the launch of our ultra-secure gold and silver secure storage service. GATA followers can now own gold and silver coins and bars -- including the Gold and Silver Trees of Life — with fully segregated, allocated holdings in one of the safest vault providers in Switzerland and the world. All coins and bars are held in your name. Not a paper claim. Not someone else's liability. Real, physical precious metals you can visit, inspect, take delivery of, or sell at any time. Safety, Trust & Privacy: Our Swiss storage partner is Helveticor AG in Zurich. Tara Gold's Mark O'Byrne, after extensive international due diligence, served as Helveticor's global ambassador for two years and stores metal with them personally. He has known the owners and senior staff for 20 years and trusts their vaults implicitly. Your metals there are fully insured and held outside the banking system — no counterparty risk, no digital risk, and no fractional reserving, with complete discreetness and privacy. Liquidity: Switzerland is a primary hub for precious metals. You can sell quickly and competitively, with proceeds transferred directly to your bank account. Tax Efficiency: Gold and silver in Swiss-bonded vaults are exempt from sales taxes. You pay only if you remove bullion from Switzerland. For holdings of $100,000 or more, the combination of security, privacy, liquidity, and tax efficiency makes this a compelling international diversification. For rates, application forms, and all key information, visit here or contact GATA supporter Tara Gold and Silver Ltd.'s Mark O'Byrne at [email protected] or +353-12641850. What the BIS report does not highlight, yet it is mentioned in an extract below, is the increases in margin requirements for silver contracts that futures exchanges implemented at the time.  So blaming retail investors is a bit like saying a forest fire started because there was plenty of dry wood while failing to mention who lit the flame. In this instance the increase in margin requirements was the spark needed to start the fire. In its desire to defend institutions, the BIS has ignored the true cause of the plunge in the silver price. Those who have followed GATA will recognize just how ready certain organizations are to push precious metals prices down when maximum damage can be inflicted. Increased margin requirements were intended to pull silver prices down. By ignoring this obvious point, the BIS quarterly report fails to explain properly what happened and how, because of the margin increases, the authorities achieved what they wanted even if the price decline was faster and larger than intended. The key excerpt from the BIS report says:  "Fund flow data indicate that retail investors were the main source of inflows into silver and gold funds in the run-up to the episode. In contrast, institutional investors maintained stable positions or even trimmed exposure. Moreover, futures positioning reveals long leveraged exposure among smaller speculative participants. 'Non-reportables' -- typically smaller investors -- were long silver futures heading into the correction.  "As prices fell sharply and exchanges raised margin requirements, these investors probably had to reduce positions quickly. 'Managed money' -- including commodity trading advisers and institutional investors -- also cut long positions, while dealers stepped in to provide liquidity by cutting short positions." ----- Robert Lambourne is a retired business executive in the United Kingdom who consults for GATA about the Bank for International Settlements and U.S. government debt. * * * Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert's "Rigged" "Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/3xt6uw66 * * * Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: http://www.gata.org To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16 Donations of $500 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work: https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png