LIFE & TRENDS


Looking for Safe- Deposit Box to Store Valuables? Good Luck!


Banks cite shrinking demand in digital age. :: BY MARISA HERMAN T


he days of storing important documents, valuable items, and family heirlooms in bank


vaults are dwindling as financial institutions move toward eliminating the once popular service. “Banks are phasing out safe-


deposit boxes for a handful of reasons, including declining demand, high maintenance costs, and a shift toward digital storage for important documents,” said Peter C. Earle, a senior economist at the American Institute for Economic Research. The Wall Street Journal reports


that JPMorgan Chase — the country’s largest bank — was one of the financial institutions to scale back the service. In 2021 the company said it


would no longer offer new boxes to customers, and if a branch closed,


110 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH:


Ship’s Sinking Spurs U.S. Into Horrific War


BY JERRY OPPENHEIMER W


hen the RMS Titanic, then the world’s largest


and most luxurious ocean liner, sank in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912 — taking the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew — the media predicted there could never again be such a horrendous disaster at sea.


70 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | MAY 2025


But three years later another British passenger ship, the Lusitania, also ferrying the world’s elite in luxurious comfort, sank in just 18 minutes on May 7, 1915 — 110 years ago this month. Some 1,200


of the 2,000 passengers and crew aboard


existing renters would not be offered a replacement box at another location. Less than half of Chase branches have safe-deposit boxes on-site. Wells Fargo’s website states that


safe-deposit boxes can still be rented at “most” locations. However, branch closures have impacted the number of metal boxes that are available. Other financial institutions that


have scaled back on the once standard service include Capital One, HSBC, and Barclays. David McGuinn, president of Safe


Deposit Specialists, which trains and consults with banks and credit unions about best practices for proper storage, said for years banks have treated the boxes “like a stepchild,” despite the fact that the clients who use them tend to be the ones with multiple accounts and routinely make large deposits. As soon as he received a letter that


his bank was no longer offering the service, he closed his accounts. While bankers and their preferred


financial institutions shift away from cash-based economies and embrace an electronic record-keeping model, Earle said private companies have helped fill the void. Earle added that over the past 30


years, home safes with “advanced security features, including biometric locks and fireproofing” have also provided consumers with a more convenient way to safely stash their valuables. While there is no longer a need to


schlep to the bank or schedule a time during bank operating hours to access a safe-deposit box, he cautioned that personal home safes do come with risks. “Many safes, while protective of damage and difficult to get into, can be lifted by one or a few determined thieves,” he said.


drowned, including more than 120 Americans. Among them were wealthy sportsman Alfred G. Vanderbilt, famed Broadway producer Charles Frohman, and fashion designer Carrie Kennedy. Survivors were rescued by nearby boats. While the Titanic had


famously hit an iceberg, it was a single torpedo from a German U-boat that doomed the Lusitania.


The attack


shocked the world and laid the groundwork for America’s entry into World War I.


The Lusitania’s sinking and the shocking death toll ignited international outrage and turned public opinion against Germany in the U.S., which was then neutral. Two years later, in 1917, the


U.S. joined the war on Germany, spurred by the interception of an inflammatory telegram sent by the German foreign minister vowing to sink any ships carrying Americans. When the conflict ended


the next year with Germany’s defeat, 10 million people had perished, and an estimated 20 million had been wounded.


LANKS/SHUTTERSTOCK


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