There are some people who might want to store something of value in a safety deposit box at a bank. The cost to rent a safety deposit box can be about $50 dollars a year and there are usually two keys for the customer and the bank. Banks often receive very little income from these boxes and they are usually offered for the convenience of the customer. There are a growing number of bank branches being built without safety deposit boxes. For public policy reasons it is better that cash be deposited in a bank account than to be stored in a safety deposit box because that way it would be loaned back into the economy. Many banks will continue to provide safety deposit boxes to customers that might want to store valuable personal property.
See Andrea Marcovici, Of What Use is a Safety Deposit Box?, South Coast Today, January 18, 2016.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
