Safe-deposit boxes hidden in subterranean bank vaults are no longer just for European spy movies.
Their demand is steadily increasing among the super-rich, according to Bloomberg. Billionaires and millionaires fear recession and climate change and just want some security for their cash, art, and jewels –– security that can cost as much as a mansion.
That’s right. People are paying millions to store millions
At one private club in London, the firm IBV International Vaults offers apartment-size storage areas for $3.2m a year and has been getting calls from interested people every week. Prices aren’t quite as high elsewhere: Some safe-deposit boxes in Switzerland are going for ~$5k a year.
In Switzerland, which has a population of 8.5m, one wealth management branch alone has 250k boxes. A precious metals dealer in Zurich has been renting five safe-deposit boxes a day, and the dealer expects its supply of 1k boxes to be gone soon.
As illicit as you would think
Safe-deposit boxes are often more about gaming the system than security. In Switzerland, lawmakers have questioned whether the safe-deposit boxes offered by non-banking entities are havens for money launderers.
In the US, where banks have stopped installing safe-deposit boxes as more people store sensitive documents electronically, many people who use them are involved with cannabis. Because the federal government still bans weed, marijuana companies need a place to stash their other kind of green.
