You can’t open an account at this new bank branch. In fact, you aren’t likely even to get in.
The Federal Reserve Bank recently dedicated its new Seattle Branch at a new high-security building in Renton.
The first thing that might impress people is the security. When you arrive at the gate you are greeted by federal police. Then a set of imposing poles made of concrete and steel are lowered into the ground so vehicles can enter the parking lot.
Upon entering the building, you are greeted by more federal police who scan gear by X-ray as you walk through a metal detector.
At first glance, the facility seems very comfortable and well designed. You don’t get a feel for the intense security until you are about to embark on a tour. The first words to the few of us there: “No cameras, no recording devices, no electronic devices.”
Those of on the tour waited by the surveillance room for our escort, and received a few final words of wisdom: “Please keep your hands out of your pockets.” I don’t think anyone in the tour group was willing to test the police on this one.
After going through a mantrap system — two heavy steel doors with bullet-proof glass, only one of which can be opened at a time — we were shown the counting rooms. Video cameras and bulletproof glass are everywhere.
“The new facility has made the entire operation more efficient and, more importantly, much safer,” Fisher said.
Donald Kohn, vice chairman for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, agreed, saying, “Clearly, the safety of our employees and operations is a high priority that has become a greater focus in the post-9/11 era.”
Cash is brought in by armored car, and the pallets of money are put into a room accessible from the outside. Once the armored car personnel have exited, the outer door is closed and the door on the inside is opened for staff to retrieve the cash.
This is the bank where consumer banks do business. Orders are placed for cash, which is then sent to the Fed, so a huge amount of money changes hands here. That became apparent in the next stage of the tour, the vault.
The vault vaguely resembles a Costco warehouse, but is much more high tech. Each crate of cash is barcoded and automatically scanned as it enters the vault. A state-of-the-art robotics system places and picks up the crates. Each one of the crates, (known as carts), holds 420 bundles.
Lily Ruiz, media relations consultant for the Federal Reserve, said that if the bundles are $100 bills, each cart would hold approximately $46 million. The vault holds stacks of carts as far as the eye can see. Approximately $1.1 billion per month is processed at the vault, although Fed officials will not disclose the exact dollar amount held at any given time.
The next area of the tour was the high-speed processing room. The machines in this room scan and automatically check the quality of 80,000 to 90,000 notes per hour, for a total of about 75.5 million notes per month, officials said. The notes that pass the scan are automatically packaged in shrink wrap. The notes that are worn or damaged are automatically shredded. If the scanner can’t decide, the notes are inspected by hand.
It took several months of logistical planning prior to the move and close down of the old Seattle branch, which was located at 1015 Second Ave. in downtown Seattle. It was closed in mid-February, when the new branch had begun full operation.
The new facility is about 100,000 square feet, and cost approximately $53 million to build. The exciting part is that no tax dollars used to pay for it — the Fed’s primary annual income comes from interest earned on its portfolio of government securities.
At the dedication ceremony, Janet Yellen, president and chief executive officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, noted “the most valuable commodity we have is the trust of the public.”
Mark Lowry can be reached at mlowry@reporternewspapers.com or 425-391-0363, ext. 5056.
