The coronavirus crisis could make America’s banks easy targets for bandits, a federal regulator warns.
Requiring people to wear face masks in public amid the pandemic creates a “very real risk” of a spike in bank robberies, according to Brian P. Brooks, the US Treasury’s acting comptroller of the currency.
Brooks issued the warning Monday in letters to the nation’s mayors and governors outlining how lockdowns aimed at curbing the virus could hurt the American banking system. He said many banks relaxed bans on masks and head coverings at the height of the pandemic to protect their customers’ health.