Safe and Sound
February 26, 2009
While Germans aren't exactly hiding money under mattresses, it's pretty close. Germans are reportedly opting to stash extra cash in safes.
German safe merchants said there had been a 30 percent increase in sales to private customers since October last year, news magazine Der Spiegel reported.
While there are no concrete figures on exactly what is being locked away in attics around Germany, the general feeling is that people are stockpiling cash.
"The customers have had diminished faith in the banks since about that time, it's something we're noticing again and again in conversations with customers," said Thies Hartmann at safe merchant Hamburger Stahltresor.
Yet using a safe for storing cash is by no means a risk-free method. Sure, there's the possibility of a burglary. And there's also the need to remember that tricky combination.
Author: Darren Mara (reuters)
Editor: Trinity Hartman