Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
nytimes.com
Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
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Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#2Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#3$246 annual rent in return for a potential $10M+ liability?
No wonder banks are getting out of this business.
Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#4The Banks would prefer you to pay a fee so that you can donate your valuables to that Bank.
If you don't control those assets, they are no longer yours.
You doubt that? Just try to access that safety deposit box when that bank is closed for the night. One day that Bank will close for the night and not reopen for quite a while if at all. What will you do then?
Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#5Related:
Safe Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe (2019) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27109002 - May 2021 (6 comments)
Safe Deposit Boxes Aren't Safe - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20545276 - July 2019 (143 comments)
Safe Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20482077 - July 2019 (2 comments)
Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#6$246 annual rent in return for a potential $10M+ liability? No wonder banks are getting out of this business.
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Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#7$246 annual rent in return for a potential $10M+ liability? No wonder banks are getting out of this business.
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Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#8Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#9$246 annual rent in return for a potential $10M+ liability? No wonder banks are getting out of this business.
I pay about $400/year for $1.5 million in commercial property liability insurance for a small office space. And the risk of somebody "slipping" and collecting $1.5 million is far, far more likely.
Every time you drive your car or bicycle you take the risk of running over a star athlete or CEO, and facing a $10 million judgement on lost earnings.
Anyhow, banks will typically require liability disclaimers from deposit box renters, so their exposure is de minimis (probably of freak incident * probability of ineffective disclaimer).
I'm guessing the real reason for not wanting these deposit boxes is the same reason banks are shedding branch staff--labor is costly; and the same reason retailers spent the past few decades selling and leasing back store locations--inflate their quarterly earnings reports by dumping accumulated real estate assets.
Re: Safe deposit boxes aren’t safe (2019)
#10Great article to show to people saying "put your backup passphrase / second hardware key into the safe deposit box"
Keeping physical stuff safe is hard. Banks were specifically invented so that people didn't need to keep valuables on them.