Back in June of last year (2011) I wrote about how there was such a demand for safe deposit boxes in Switzerland that,

    ...if you want a bank box in Zurich today, they will require that you have a minum of half a million swiss francs on deposit in the bank, before they will even consider you. That is how short of space they are.

The same person,who told me that contacted me today to tell me that the demand for Safe deposit boxes has grown so hugely that in the area bordering Italy, hotels are now renting out their own safety deposit boxes.

First the Greeks now the Italians. Capital Flight in full effect. But don't worry I am sure Mr Monti has it all under control.

Of course it is only the money of those who have enough liquid cash to make it worthwhile to go to Switzerland and open an account or rent a safe deposit box that flies away in this manner. I moved most of my remaining savings from TD Ameritrade FDIC insured money market like accounts to the only local bank that has a 3 Star rating. The rest remains in accounts at a regional bank we use for everyday banking. So I diversified my institutional risk, at a minimum. I still have my safe deposit box, but I also have a storage solution that is not under the control of the FDIC.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."