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To: Patricia who wrote (6359)	11/21/1997 1:29:00 AM
From: Patricia	Respond to of 31646

Part 2 "Not everyone is taking it as seriously as they should, including financial institutions, governments and corporations" worldwide, Coulter said. Federal regulators are closely monitoring the progress of bank programs. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has called government agency and trade association officials to a meeting in Washington on Thursday. Last week, the FDIC and Federal Reserve Board joined a state agency in Georgia to order a bank in that state to speed up its program. Jack Schaffer, commissioner of the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate, said he believes most of the state's banks "may be ahead of the curve." "There could be a few lagging, but they're so small it won't be a big deal," Schaffer said. "A couple still conduct their work on paper. But we'll be following our banks closely. We have a plan that closely mirrors the federal programs." Schaffer said he is "more concerned about computer-service companies and vendors" whose equipment might not be up to date. Some of those firms, he added, might go out of business in 2000. Executives in charge of the conversion efforts at Chicago's largest banks say their programs are on schedule. But, like Schaffer, they are concerned about other parts of the chain. "We could be 100 percent compliant, but one weak link in the system--another bank, a vendor or a customer--could cause problems," said Hollist of First Chicago, which figures it will spend $100 million for its own effort. Most of the big banks are also working with their smaller correspondent banks to bring the latter's systems up to date. But at least a third of the nation's smaller banks are either unaware of the problem or lagging in fixing computer problems, according to the U.S. comptroller of the currency, which regulates nationally chartered banks. "Some bankers just haven't awakened to the problem," said Robert Wingert, executive director of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois, which has 516 of the state's some 800 banks as members. "It's a big problem," agreed Richard Thorsen, president of the Community Bank of Ravenswood on Chicago's Northwest Side. "Some bankers admit it's a problem, but they think somebody will figure it out before 2000." Thorsen said his bank, which was founded in mid-1996 and moved into permanent quarters in September, is "in good shape." "We're convinced we will be 100 percent ready," said Steve Kutnick, senior vice president of worldwide technology at Northern Trust. "This is a well-defined project. Our big concern is the other guy." Marcus Acheson, executive vice president of Bank of America in Chicago, expressed concern that many small and medium-size companies won't be ready with their own systems. "Many smaller firms, especially privately owned companies, don't have task forces in place or aren't working with their suppliers," he said. "We as lenders are concerned that some clients may be at risk as related to the companies they deal with. They may be stuck with no defenses on the first Monday morning of 2000." PHOTO: Jerry Kareckas (left) of Compuware Corp., Pen Hollist, head of the First Chicago NBD's century date program, and Tom Corlett are working to head off the Millennium Bug threat. Tribune photo by James F. Quinn. GRAPHIC: Banking industry faces year 2000 problem. Sources: Gartner Group, Federal Reserve Board. Chicago Tribune. - See microfilm for complete graphic. Keywords: BANK TECHNOLOGY DEFECT DATE FORECAST Document ID: S732417c