The  effectiveness  of  the  London  Bullion  Market   Association's  Good Delivery List was 

questioned  during a panel session Tuesday  at  the  annual  LBMA/LPPM  conference  in 

Barcelona. 

One topic of  conversation  from the refiners represented on the panel was the fact that the 

LBMA's GDL might be overpopulated, and that this was creating a "two-tier" system, one th

at actually delivered material to the market and another that was simply leveraging the LBM

A brand and associated "black box" value-added tax break. 

On the  LBMA website the GDL is described as, "only refiners whose bars have been accre 

dited by  the  LBMA  as  meeting  the minimum standards for trading on the London market 

appear in the list." 

Perth Mint CEO Richard Hayes, Valcambi CEO Michael Mesaric, Asahi President Grant Ang 

win, and MKS South Africa Chairman Marwan Shakarchi all agreed that the LBMA needed t

o have a plan and agenda to maintain the credibility of the global gold market as well as its 

own reputation. 

"You're setting the standard and people should follow this," Shakarchi said. 

The LBMA, traditionally a trade body, is becoming much more of the "standard setter," or 

proxy regulator, CEO Ruth Crowell said Monday. 

Hayes said that in a globalized world the issue of overcapacity was less of a problem than th

e fact  that  moving  metal  around  was becoming easier and auditing it back to source more 

complicated. 

He  said  of  the  GDL that all members should be forced to deliver a standardized amount of 

refined gold a year to market to prove authenticity. 

One sticking point was that of kilobars, Hayes arguing that he believes they should be allowe 

d to be registered as good delivery. 

However,  Angwin  said that kilobars should remain a "premium product" and that the London 

market, formalized to 400 oz, was more for central banks. 

Hayes,  however,  said that kilobars -- favored by China, and the Shanghai Gold Exchange -- 

not being included in the list was "at odds" with the fact that most major refiners produce larg

e bars [kilos].