"NEWS: Barclays, sponsor of the silver ETF, SLV, needs £7.5 billion in capital, and is clearly in trouble! I have warned about the integrity of SLV, because its silver is unauditable, with JP Morgan the custodian, who also uses many sub custodians, so the ETF is basically reliant upon the promises of JP Morgan and its creditors, and JP Morgan has the largest derivatives exposure of all banks, by far, $72 Trillion, with a T.

http://www.bankingtimes.co.uk/040920... "

ESL comments: Good catch VHF. The first thought that came to mind is recent news within the past month about an Austrialian (?) brokerage firm that (unbeknownst to clients) had pledged all shares held in client accounts as as collateral against an outstanding debt in an affiliated firm. Well surprise surprise the affiliated firm was unable to pay it's debt and creditors seized the pledged shares (even shares held in cash accounts), leaving clients out in the cold. Not sure if "depositors" had the backing of industry insurance up to a defined limit but the fact remains there is no guarantee that Barclay's hasn't similarly pledged the physical Silver it supposedly holds to back it's shares, as collateral against some unknown derivative-based insurance written to Cartel agents. Pray tell what happens to ETF shareholders if such a loan exists today & that loan is called in or if Barclay's as a whole goes belly up, and creditors seize all assets under court protection - including PM bullion - , taking years to sort out who gets claim to assets after the dust settles? People who believe ETFs are an equivalent substitute for the real deal are fooling themselves believing the authorities in a state of crisis will let them have their full & just rewards as PMs soar to incredible values. Instead growing shortages of physical metal today prove the smart money prefers to buy and hold onto bars instead of participating in schemes that will return nothing more than a promise to redeem ETF shares in either hyperinflated dollars, or in worthless zero-coupon government-backed bonds. I firmly believe that at the end of the day all the Gold & Silver held by these "trusts" will eventually be confiscated by government decree to allow the perps who instigated the recent PM declines, to cover their shorts - not unlike how the Feds are using taxpayers dollars today to bail out the same entities that have laid the foundation for the current mortgage & credit crisis.