FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE NOT READY FOR YEAR 2000
BIS (Bank of International Settlements - July 1, 1999
BASLE, Switzerland, July 1 (Reuters) - The world's financial markets are still not ready for the Year 2000 change and much work still needs to be accomplished, the Joint Year 2000 Council at the Bank for International Settlements said on Thursday.
''The productive exchanges today between senior representatives of major public and private financial sector organisations made clear the significant progress on readiness being made in financial markets,'' Council Chairman Roger Ferguson was quoted as saying in a statement.
''However, the meeting also indicated that much work is still to be accomplished; therefore we will need to remain focused in our efforts and avoid complacency,'' he said.
The Joint Year 2000 Council on Thursday held a meeting of public and private sector representatives of the world's banking, securities and insurance industries.
It noted participation in mandatory tests for the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) interbanking payment system remained low and urged supervisors to check whether participants had successfully tested with the system.
The Joint Year 2000 Council was established in April 1998. It is jointly sponsored by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
biz.yahoo.com
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For those who don't know who SWIFT is ...
SWIFT supplies secure messaging, interface software and 24-hour global support to about 6,500 financial institutions in 181 countries. In 1998, SWIFT's global network carried over 900 million messages.The average daily value of payments messages on the SWIFT. network is estimated to be above USD 2 trillion.
In addition to its 2,941 member banks live on the network, SWIFT users include sub-members and participants such as brokers, investment managers, securities deposit and clearing organisations, and stock exchanges.
[...]
As part of our year 2000 project ... we have introduced a MANDATORY test programme ... COMPULSORY testing will take place from 1 August 1998 to 31 July 1999 ....
The objectives of the programme are to:
- Reinforce the urgency for customers to prepare thoroughly for the year 2000
- Ensure consistent and comprehensive testing in the S.W.I.F.T. community
- Help customers demonstrate their ability to exchange messages over the S.W.I.F.T. system under year 2000 conditions.
swift.com
Sounds like many don't know what the word "compulsory" means.
Cheryl
183 days until ... |
