Is It Necessary To Save Teller Trash?

Answer by Mary Beth Guard:

This is another risk management decision. Here's the way I would approach it. I would canvass your tellers and either ask them to provide you with feedback about what items they have had to retrieve from their trash within the last six months, or do the same thing on a go-forward basis to have them record for the next month or so any instance where it became necessary to retrieve something from their trash. (If you think they may be less than forthcoming, perhaps due to a perception that if they admit having to go trash fishing too often, they might be perceived as being sloppy or inattentive to detail. You may have to instead ask, "What items are you aware of any teller having to retrieve from teller trash within the last X number of months?" You want the information. You don't care whose trash it was.)

Once you have gathered data, you'll then be in a position to judge the extent to which there are sufficient back-up sources for the type of information lost. If checks being deposited by your customers are occasionally being accidentally trashed before they are imaged, you might want to think twice about discontinuing the trash holding period.