We have a customer who purchased a large cashier's check and every so often she brings it in and wants to get some cash, deposit some money and buy a cashier's check for the difference.

I hate to embarass myself, hence the anonymous post, but is this strange?

Any thoughts?

Strange maybe not the best word... uncommon, yes, but not unheard of.

I have seen a handful of customers over the years do this for a variety of reasons... normally it is their 'safe' way of hiding funds from the gov't for disability purposes, from nursing homes, family, etc.

Usually, not always but usually, they feel their is some merit to what they are doing.

Also, you might want to search other threads. I think this has been discussed a couple of times in recent weeks.

Here is a recent thread:

http://www.bankersonline.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1383204#Post1383204

I have seen this happen, both as a way to hide money from someone and also as a "safe savings account" in cases where the customer doesn't trust the bank and wants to physically have their savings on them at all times.

I have had customers do this because they decided that bank/government could not be trusted. Some keep the check in safe deposit box and come in to get what they need when they need it. In this situation the funds had previously been with the bank so we knew the source of funds, customer, etc.. bank closings are a concern. Y2K brought out all kinds of strange activity! I would look at each situation, talk to the individual and then decide if the activity should be reported.

Had a similar situation except one spouse was a compulsive gambler. Other spouse knew that if money were deposited to their account, it would be used very quickly at the casino. Every two weeks customer got a new cashiers check (in thier own name) and some cash for living expenses. This was a large check and went on for a long period of time but we knew where the original deposit originated from and why the money was being removed. Sometimes the truth is strange, but understandable

A customer at my previous bank did this very thing. Started out with a very large CC over $300,000. Then for the next four months, every couple of weeks the customer purchased another CC in a small amount and deposited the difference to various business accounts. This went on until the funds were completely distributed to various entities the customer owned. A SAR was filed.

This happens often when the branch is unwilling or unable to disburse a large amount of cash to the customer.