BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota lawmakers are looking to invest in gold and silver.
A new bill would require at least 1% of money in the state treasury to be invested in gold and silver bullion.
Other red states have recently passed similar bills.
The bill also requires the state to determine where to keep the precious metal once it is purchased.
Texas holds its precious metals in a privately-owned and insured vault.
Bank Of North Dakota is being considered.
“We would have to upgrade our vault. We anticipate that there would be 400,000 to 600,000 a year (…) in operating expenses that we would have in maintaining that because it’s going to dramatically shift our safety systems within the bank,” said Kelvin Hullet, chief business development officer for Bank of North Dakota. “I will tell you this: Makes our operations person very nervous if we were to become the depository.”
One privately-owned vault that was mentioned in committee is owned by Fargo precious metal dealer Treasure Island.