I was talking to a friend earlier this week who is the CEO of a direct sales company.  In preparation for an upcoming event he needed to pull $50,000 in cash out of his company's bank account, to be awarded as cash prizes at the event.  His company banks at Chase (the largest bank in the world, mind you).

Long story short, he went in on a Tuesday to request the cash.  He was leaving town that Friday.

After some hemming and hawing the manager told him he wasn't sure he'd be able to get that much cash together.  "Well call another branch" responded my friend.  So the manager did...

And the manager supposedly spent his entire afternoon that day calling other branches in one of the 5 largest metro areas in the U.S.

Still... nobody had enough cash on hand nor could they get it.

More specific events ensued but the point of the story is that 3 days later (and well after the 48 hour requested notice period) the Chase branch was still strugging to get the cash.

So to summarize, the largest bank in the world can't aggregate enough cash for a $50,000 cash withdrawal on 72 hours notice in one the biggest cities in the U.S.

Tell me our financial system isn't totally hosed.

Feels like it's time to buy gold and plan a one-way trip to Costa Rica!