An Austin suburb has been named as the location for the state’s first gold depository.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the city of Leander will become the home of the Texas Bullion Depository.
Hegar said the creation of Texas’ first gold depository began as a bill, and was signed into law in 2015. The law allowed the comptroller to select Lone Star Tangible Assets, a private precious metals firm to build and run the depository and allowed his office to monitor its operation.
Hegar said many gold investors in Texas currently store their gold in either out-of-state facilities or within a private Texas firm’s vault.
“There is really not a regulatory mechanism to insure that the metal will be there if something happens with that company, so that is part of this that people can now rest assured that the state has the oversight," Hegar said.
Construction on the new depository is expected to begin in early 2018. Hegar says the clientele will likely be investors who use gold to diversify their investment portfolio and those who don’t trust the value of the dollar or the government.
“Those who were drafting the legislation had a concern that they really didn’t want the federal government coming and confiscating gold," Hegar said.
Hegar said due to the unique nature of the facility and its security needs, Leander has authorized LSTA to build its own on-site firearms range and tactical training area.
The Texas Gold Depository will be the nation’s first state-administered depository.
Ryan Poppe can be reached at rpoppe@tpr.org or on Twitter @RyanPoppe1
