I know a lot of bank employees. If the bank kept a copy of your key and anything turned up missing. there is no way the bank could prove one of there employees did not open your box. The liability risk is way too high and no one would use a SDB under those circumstances.
All I need is access one time. I only use local banks and have long term relationships with those people. In a SHTF scenario the rules wont't matter and I will get access to my SDBs at least once each. Cultivating those relationships with the bank employees is as important as using the SDBs. Concentrate on the long term employees. But most of us stay on top of events and will have found suitable alternatives before such an event occurs.
Not true here in the US. Someone I know died and the wife was not listed as a signature on the lock box. SDB had to be drilled. Rules may be different in AU. But if the bank had a copy of my key, why would I use them in the first place.
Safety deposit boxes are only okay if you can access the bank to get at the boxes... If a bank (or a country) goes bust and the banks don't open for a while, what good is your deposit box then? The whole banking system was shut down in Cyprus for twelve days earlier this year. No ATMs were working and the banks were closed. So any Cypriot stacker would have been in trouble if he'd stored his stash in a safety deposit box for a rainy day! Sure, it is an extreme scenario, but how do we know what the future holds for anyone, or any country?! It's not yours unless it is in your hands, is my motto!
Stay with local banks and know the people who work there. Did anyone read anything that said customers could not get access to their SDBs when the banks reopened? I didn't. Since the USD is the world's reserve currency, there isnt much need for our banks to shut down. But even if the banks are closed for a while, so what? As long as I can access my pms within a few days/weeks, I am okay with that. I just need a few minutes for each SDB. Our President is not very popular, and local bankers are not going to obey a Presidential order to prevent access to SDBs. The local bankers live around the customers. And even if some of them would obey the order, I know ones who wouldn't and I only need one per SDB. Everyone has to make their own choice regarding storage. Private storage with insurance protection is probably the best way to go. But for some of us, that option is not available within a reasonable driving distance. And for me, keeping pms in a safe at home is riskier than keeping it in a SDB.
Outside of another silverdoctor article, everything regarding this issue originated with a Panama salesman/blogwriter named Randy Hilarksi. Interesting that this news isn't being reported anywhere outside of conspiracy circles. May very well be true, but even the boots on the ground source says all the other banks are open. It is possible that the National Bank of Panama is closed for the very reason they gave. National Bank of Panama probably has a significant number of US customers and they may actually be upgrading their software system so that they can comply with new US banking regulations and keep those accounts. A lot of banks will simply close the accounts of US customers and eliminate the expense and headache.
I can't believe that no-one has thought of it but if anyone is really worried, they can leave it with me.
Seems a good idea if your going to give it to strangers(banks) on a promise to look after it. Then as long as you promise to look after it why not. Looking for the sarcasm icon
Another conspiracy theory shot down. My spanish is well below basic, but it appears that the system upgrades have been installed and the National Bank of Panama is open for business again. Hopefully, no one bought any extra pms because one salesman/blogwriter (Hilarski) stirred up the pm community. These types of articles spread around the internet fast and blog writers reference each other. So readers see what appear to be multiple sources that are often based upon one sole, and often questionable, source. https://www.banconal.com.pa/index.p...-16-14-57&catid=12:noticias&Itemid=46&lang=en
