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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Ken Sweet

Safety deposit boxes headed toward extinction at Chase

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu

You'll no longer be able to store your precious coins, jewelry and paperwork at JPMorgan Chase & Co., as the bank has stopped opening new safety deposit boxes for customers.

A spokesman for the bank said Chase decided late last year to stop offering new deposit boxes to customers as a “business decision” but declined to share specifics. Customers who have a box with Chase will be able to keep the box as long as the branch stays open, but they will not be able to open a new one at another location.

Banks long stopped opening up cavernous branches with dozens of teller windows and a vault the size of a one-bedroom apartment. Reflecting the fact that customers may not enter a bank branch for months at a time, most branches are now designed to be small, with multiple ATMs, as well as breakout spaces so bankers can one-on-one interactions with customers when needed. Chase's newest branches have not vaults for some time.

Safety deposit boxes were never a highly profitable business for banks, often offered as an additional service to their most valued customers. The vaults themselves are expensive to install and pose 24/7 security risks due to the valuables that were often stored inside, requiring bank employees to get specialized training to handle vault requests. Meanwhile, customers typically rent a box at a branch for $45-$150 a year, depending on size.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg News.

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