Narberth resident Linda Dorey-Stein is among many Americans losing their safe deposit boxes as banks phase out this long-standing service due to its low profitability, writes Erin McCarthy for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dorey-Stein received a letter in August from Citizens Bank, instructing her to empty her safe deposit box in the following months.
When she read the note, it felt like “the end of an era,” she said.
Together with her husband, Dorey-Stein first rented a safe deposit box four decades ago, after her father died and left her his coin collection. They also put other important items in the box, including the deed to their house and their passports.
“I had grown up with my father always using a safe-deposit box,” said the 72-year-old retired clinical social worker.
By storing her valuables at the bank, she felt like she was “carrying on a family tradition.”
After receiving the notice, she inquired about which banks still offered safe deposit boxes and discovered that many no longer did. She was able to move her belongings to a safe deposit box at TD Bank in Havertown, keeping the tradition alive – for now.
Read more about safe-deposit boxes in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
