Metal Account
Many banks and bullion
dealers offer metal account facilities to their customers, who may be substantial
traders or small jewellers. The advantage of metal accounts is that gold is not
normally delivered, thus occasionally avoiding sales tax. Metal
account business in Switzerland increased enormously in the early 1980s when gold
deliveries were taxed for a time. Metal account gold is normally ‘unallocated’
so the client is an unsecured creditor.