Annual Report 2021

CEO's Report

Ruth Crowell, LBMA CEO

Following engagement with our Committees and the Board, I am delighted to launch our proposed Strategic Plan for 2022-24 and would welcome your comments and feedback.

We have reconfirmed our mission to advance global standards and have identified four key workstreams: Responsible Sourcing, Physical Market, Financial Market, and Communications & Engagement.

We have also set ourselves some hard objectives to better serve our Members and the industry at large.

Responsible Sourcing reflects the increased demand for responsibly sourced bullion and encompasses our sustainability agenda, responsibly sourced Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM), increased engagement with both upstream and downstream actors, as well as initiatives such as our work on International Bullion Centres.

Physical Market Enhancements highlights the key deliverables in order to maintain the Good Delivery List (GDL) as the leading global standard. This includes our work on the gold integrity ecosystem, developing new Security Features on bars, as well as advancing the development of rules, standards and training.

Financial Market Enhancements reflects the requirement to increase transparency and represent the interests of the market on issues such as NSFR, as well as undertaking reviews on transparency, clearing and settlement issues.

Communications & Engagement highlights our intention to be highly accessible and visible across all key markets. An important aspect of this work is to enhance our one-to-one engagement with Members, as well as creating additional Member working groups, events, webinars and reports.

Each of these four key strategic pillars, and the governance and business models to support them, are covered in more detail in subsequent sections of this Annual Report.

Engagement Welcome

I welcome Members and all industry stakeholders to engage with me, my leadership team and our entire Board. It is your feedback and engagement that helps us better serve the common good of the global industry.

Get in touch

Membership Satisfaction and Accessibility

A key part of measuring how we are at meeting our strategic goals will be through key metrics, such as Member Satisfaction rates. This autumn, we commissioned an independent Membership Survey to seek feedback from Members, Refiners and Subscribers on how LBMA is delivering against its strategic mission, as well as to consult on the key pillars of our new Strategic Plan. We wanted to offer Members, Refiners and other key stakeholders an opportunity to provide meaningful feedback and have a say in the future direction of the Association.

The Survey was managed by an independent research consultancy, Prescient, with all responses aggregated to ensure that they remained anonymous and confidential. I am delighted to report that we received 127 complete online survey responses from LBMA Members, Refiners and Subscribers. We also held 20 in-depth interviews with key industry stakeholders from inside and outside the Membership. These interviews were designed to dig a little deeper to fully understand how stakeholders engage with LBMA and what they want to see in the future.

The full results of the Survey will be published early in the New Year, but I can share some preliminary results with you. Overall, LBMA is performing well, achieving an overall Members Satisfaction rate of 67%, with 20% saying they are extremely satisfied.

I would like to thank you all for taking the time to take part in the Member Survey and provide your feedback. The feedback will also help shape our Strategic Plan for 2022-24, and how we communicate these plans. I hope the conversation and further feedback will follow as we consult on our Strategic Plan in the New Year.

The survey was designed to better understand your needs and expectations as LBMA Members and Refiners, and how we are doing in terms of meeting them.

Majority aligned with LBMA role to advance global standards for common good

Sustainability - At The Core of Responsible Sourcing

As people reflect on the lessons learnt from the pandemic, the issue of sustainability once again comes sharply into focus, particularly in terms of climate, pollution and biodiversity. Ensuring a sustainable future for the gold industry is, of course, a vital part of what we all do. It requires us all to take action, not just in terms of governance, but by also having a clear strategy, taking appropriate risk management measures, and setting out targets and metrics.

Beyond our individual firms and markets, we should come together to help build a sustainable future for the industry. And let’s be clear, this isn’t just about saving the planet or satisfying the authorities. This is a business agenda to ensure that the precious metals industry stays healthy and profitable.

We must act now, given the pace of global warming and the possibility that the 2050/2060 greenhouse gas emission targets may even be brought forward.

Digitising the Future

Educating consumers and downstream companies becomes significantly easier when you can share with them the life story of the gold they are buying. It is even easier if they can see this value chain journey on their own phones. With real data, consumers can understand the different types of gold supply and trust that the gold they buy has been sourced responsibly.

Choosing to buy ASM gold becomes more straightforward when you can see its digital life story. Blockchain technology can allow consumers and investors to see exactly where the gold they own was mined, refined, recycled and traded. There are many products available which can do just that.

LBMA has been working with the professional vaulting ecosystem to digitise the global value chain, through its Gold Bar Integrity initiative. Digitising the gold industry is a significant challenge, but I’m delighted to report that we have made real progress this year. LBMA has launched a Security Feature Standard and accreditation process to recognise security features. The next step is the launch of the track and trace database to not only bring the value chain to life, but to enhance these security features. Refiners and mints around the world have used security features for years to protect the integrity of their individual production.

A global database, which brings these efforts together, not only enhances the Security Feature Standard, but delivers a better, transparent service to clients, investors and consumers worldwide. I’m grateful for all the stakeholder engagement to date and look forward to bringing this digital ecosystem into reality.

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