And I do mean 'CASHING.' I was just notified by our CD dept. that we have an 87 year old lady that wants to cash in her $100,000. CD and receive the proceeds IN CASH. I asked around and it seems that she does this periodically, takes the money home, and brings it back a couple of months later and opens up another CD. She has also been convinced from time to time to take Cashier's checks for the funds, but still brings them back after a couple of months to redeposit. I have heard other employees talking to her on the phone, and I observed from their conversations that she may not be, well, all there, if you know what I mean. I guess my question is can I refuse to give her the cash? Purely from a safety standpoint, of course. Could I require her to bring a guard or something? This is evidently normal for her, but certainly not for me. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I do not think I would deny her the money, with all that is going on that could cause her panic. I would however requesst her to take the CD in a form of a cashiers check. In this case she will at least be somewhat protected from loss. Maybe a little more probing could result in why this is a form of practice for her. My concern is her loss of funds.

I would also strongly try and steer her towards a cashiers check, but if she insists in cash, I might attempt to offer her either a free or heavily discounted safe deposit box (depending on how good a customer and if you offer SD boxes) to stash her cash. Or maybe even a premium rate savings account if she is indeed a good customer and not just a hot money customer.

She's probably a little worried about the war, and wants to have her hands on her money and put it in the mattress! I don't think that you can deny her the cash, although you should definitely recommend a cashier's check. If she won't take that, do express your concern with her safety if she walks out of the building with a suitcase of cash.

I truly believe in talking with other employees who are familiar with her that there is no concern over the war. This is a customer who has done this before, expressing her dismay over the low interest rates, checks around, finds none better, and decides to redeposit the funds with us. She has done this 5 times over the last 3 years, always redepositing the money. She will accept Cashier's checks, but my concern is the safety of both her and the cash, should she receive it. She has to get somebody to drive her here, and who is to say that these people are just being helpful to a little old lady? I guess I always try to err on the side of caution, but if something happens to her and/or her money, the authorities will come to us and ask "why did you give her that much cash?" when we know that her mental state is not all that stable.

It sounds to me that you should consult with management and possibly your bank's attorney about this situation. It could pose a risk to your institution.

I don't think I would ever try to convince a bank customer to stash money in a safety deposit box. Many customers believe that the contents of those boxes are FDIC insured, but are very surprised to find out that they are not. That might be opening the bank up to liability....just my humble opinion ;-)

Check this recent thread for more thoughts: Large Cash Withdrawal.

You definitely do not want the 87 year old lady talking to the press or an AARP rep about the bank refusing to give her, her own money. Not good PR.

While you can invoke a notice period that should be contracted for, I would urge the check and offer a security guard, at least as far as your property line. That may be an obvious uniformed person or an undercover cop in plain clothes.

You might also have a senior person (and by that I mean in age and wisdom, someone she can relate to) have a cup of coffee with her just to rest your own fears that she is being taken by some scam. Her FDIC coverage is better than her homeowners in this case.