'World banks to get centralised Y2K
help
by John Geralds in Silicon Valley
A powerful new body is monitoring the Year 2000 related
work in the financial industry worldwide and has set up a
Web site to help banks and businesses to keep track of
compliance efforts around the world.
The Joint Year 2000 Council, an international clearing
house for Year 2000 updates, comes under the auspices of
the Basle, Switzerland based Bank for International
Settlements, which in turn is owned by a number of
national central banks.
The Web site (www.bis.org) will contain a global databank
of contacts in individual countries covering financial
market regulators, financial industry associations and
infrastructures, utilities and other institutions.
One analyst doubts whether simply visiting a Web site will
have enough comfort level for global financial institutions.
"Such an open Web site is a nice idea in an idealistic
world, but I don't know if companies will take the risk of
using that," said Howard Rubin, an analyst at the Meta
Group.
"Global companies are aware of the problem and are
sending envoys abroad and asking tough questions," he
added.
In addition to the Web site, the Joint Year 2000 Council will
also publish policy papers on specific millennium issues as
well as covering the impact of the problem, the importance
of testing for Year 2000 readiness and disclosure issues.
Roger Ferguson, a governor of the US Federal Reserve
System, this week took over as chairman of the council. He
said: "I am eager to work with the Council to help provide
guidance and assistance for supervisors and financial
market participants in all countries regarding the steps
they need to take to meet the challenge."
His predecessor Ernest Patrikis, who has left the BIS to go
into private business, had previously warned US bankers
to be realistic and accept disruptions as inevitable.
"The many interconnections of the global financial market
infrastructure imply that financial market participants in the
US could be affected by Y2K related disruptions in other
financial markets," he said.
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