Also according to the annual report, the company has traditionally purchased natural gas, through the use of forwardpurchase contracts, in the spot market.
In the third quarter, the bank purchased 22 million common shares and paid for 6.3 million more shares in a forwardpurchase transaction that settled in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Not only would it have caused another diplomatic row, it's unlikely a collector would have come forward to purchase them at anything near their real value.