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Photo by Tacoma News Tribune
I had an opportunity to tour Renton’s new Federal Reserve Bank today (Actually the Seattle Branch of the Federal Reserve of San Fransisco) along with a couple dozen members of Renton’s business community. We were treated to economic presentations and predictions by the Federal Reserve staff and Puget Sound Economist Doug Pederson. (I’ll make their predictions another blog topic for another day, but the preview is that both sources expect economic recovery to begin late this year…yay!…but they are not certain…boo!)
Anyway, back to the bank. It seems almost surreal to see greenbacks loaded into carts, about ten millions dollars per cart, and pushed around the floor just like insulation bales at McLendons Hardware.
The money-handling employees looked just like you or me, dressed in normal casual attire, some young and some more experienced. They all looked like they took their job seriously… you don’t want a stray Franklin ending up on the bottom of someone’s shoe. And the security personnel looked very serious– uniformed, well-armed, and watching activities intently. There are more cops at the bank than in all the rest of the City of Renton put together.
Essentially, the money is hand-carried in in cloth bags through a sort of air-lock, that keeps the armored car personnel from ever getting into the same room as the Federal Reserve employees.
Bank bundles are then removed from the cloth sacks, and each bundle is tagged and entered into a central computer system for tracking.
Once a cart is stacked with about ten-million dollars or so in bills, the cart is taken to a counting and inspection room. Here, automated equipment counts the bills, and credits the bank that delivered the bundle. While counting, the high-tech machines are also visually and chemically assessing the bills for damage– in the words of our host Mark Gould, the machine decides if the bill is “fit, unfit, or counterfeit.” Counterfeit bills go into a special collector to be turned over to Secret Service. Unfit bills are shredded immediately, and the remnants float up a clear exhaust tube looking something like puffs of smoke.
Finally, the bundles are re-stacked and relabeled, and taken to the vault for storage until some bank in Washington or Alaska is in need of them. The vault is right out of Harry Potter or The Da Vinci Code. (I noticed the Tacoma News Tribune writer had the same reaction I did.) The concrete is about two feet thick, and the steel door (open during business hours) is at least a foot thick itself. Inside the vault is a crane/elevator/conveyor system, which moves the bin of money to it’s special location in 3D space deep inside the vault.
Coins come in in a different “air-lock”, and they are moved to the vault, but they never leave the bags they arrive in. Before arriving they are automatically counted by the banks and Armored Car companies (presumably by calibrated and audited equipment), and the Federal Reserve Bank receives and stores them as is. I guess it is just not worth the money to recount it, and damaged coins are too rare to worry about.
There was lots of fascinating security equipment, making the building a true fortress. I don’t know what I could or should talk about, but suffice it to say it’s not going to get robbed.
The Tacoma News Tribune did a great write-up, and anyone who wants to learn more can read about it HERE.
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You can visit the bank yourself by making an appointment for your tour group.
Here is some info:
Seattle: Make your tour reservation today by calling (425) 203-0705.
* Tours are provided at the Seattle Branch (located in Renton) Monday through Friday, by reservation only.
* Tours last approximately 75 minutes and include an overview of the Federal Reserve System, pictorial history of the Seattle Branch, historical currency display and the Branch’s cash operation.
Tour Details
Prearranged tours are available to groups of students (high school and college), teachers, bankers, and community and business organizations, with a minimum of 8 persons (10 persons for San Francisco only) and a maximum of 30.
In San Francisco only, sixty-minute public tours of the Fed Center exhibit are available on a walk-in basis Fridays at noon.
All locations require a minimum of two weeks advance notice as well as a list of tour participants submitted to the tour coordinators two weeks prior to the scheduled visit.
Important Note
Due to heightened security requirements, we may close to the public at any time if the national threat level is elevated. No cameras or camera phones are allowed in our facilities; photo identification is required. We have security checks similar to those at airports. Groups requesting more than two tour reservations per month must obtain prior approval from the tour coordinator.
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