Midtown Manhattan Bank Runs Out Of $100 Bills Amid Corona Panic, Run Bank, Run

With the stock market plummeting as the realities of the COVID-19 outbreak sink in, nervous New Yorkers flooded a Midtown Manhattan Bank of America - taking out large sums of cash into the tens of thousands of dollars at a time.So much so, in fact, that the branch at 52nd St. and Park Avenue ran out of $100 bills according to the New York Times, citing three people familiar with the branch's operations. Of note, the problem was limited to large bills - with smaller denominations remaining stocked. Two days later, the bank was resupplied.

The shortage hit after a rash of requests for as much as $50,000, said two people who witnessed the rush.

The problem was limited to large bills — the bank’s A.T.M.s stayed stocked and customers with routine transactions were still able to take out cash. By Friday morning, the bank had refilled its supply of big bills, two of the people said.

But the desire for cash persisted: A teller at a JPMorgan Chase branch across the street said on Friday that there had been a “nonstop” stream of customers stockpiling cash over the past two days. -NYT

"We don’t keep large amounts of cash in big bills in the branches because it’s dangerous for our employees and there is low demand," said Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin, who added that the bank had enough cash available to meet its clients' needs.

As the Times words it, "it appears the deep level of fear that has set in on Wall Street — as weeks of market gyrations have wiped trillions of dollars of wealth — has also permeated people’s personal lives."

Notably, cash transportation company Brink's reported "a big spike in demand" last week from some of its bank clients according to company spokesman Edward Cunningham.

"They’re putting more cash into branches, they’re requesting more frequent replenishment of A.T.M.s," he said.

Panic began to set in last Monday after the S&P 500 triggered a "level one circuit breaker" following a drop of 7%. Google searches for "Black Monday" spiked, along with inquiries for "Vix," "NYSE circuit breakers," and "what was Black Monday."

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/midtown-manhattan-bank-runs-out-100-bills-amid-corona-panic