Anyone familiar with Bank of America's Y2K track record and current status? Any suggestions on a better choice? I read Diana's thread dated 4/20/99 on Bank of Benton, KY; wish something like that existed in Northern California...

-- Christine (Sammadhi@msn.com), May 24, 1999

Answers

Yes Christine,

They have an apalling record - used to live in SFO working for VISA. Let me be blunt. Get any major funds out of any Bank - keep minimum funds for day to day transactions. Check out the Banking threads. the Banking system will hose monumentally.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 25, 1999.

OK Guys, it's time to stop lallygagging around! It's time to take all your money out of the banks and bury it in your garden! Then shut up about it and tell nobody! Loose lips, sink ships! Nobody knows when it's stampede time! Do not chance it! Start now, before the sheople wake up and trample you! Silver is still at wholesale prices! Bury it deep in your yard! If it goes back to 1980 prices of $50 an ounce, you will ten times your money! Y2K may take silver to the stratosphere! DO IT NOW! DO NOT PROCRASTINATE ANY LONGER!

-- smitty (smitty@sandiego.com), May 25, 1999.

Andy:

I have a question for you. After June 30, when the vast majority of banks will be done with testing our mission critical systems (by the way, this does include testing transmission to the FED), and when we start making public announcements to this fact, are you still going to come to the same conclusion. Are you going to say: "They are all lying, they're playing us for fools, all of us..." Virtually the only way the banking system will fail now is as a result of public panic, period.

Frustrated.

-- newlurker (no@no.com), May 25, 1999.

newlurker,

On May 14, 1999 you wrote that "For data, we use Frame Relay through AT&T, as well as a number of local exchanges. We have not tested with them, simply because they haven't been ready early enough."

Would you please explain how you can continue to claim that your bank, or any bank, will be compliant "After June 30" if "We (your bank) have not tested with them (your bank's telecommunications provider), simply because they haven't been ready early enough."

One fact is that the telecommunications provider(s) must reach routine maintenance early enough for a bank to completely test its telecommunications operations if compliance is to be claimed.

Another fact is that you have already admitted that your bank hasn't tested with AT&T because they were not ready soon enough.

But since when has an examination of the facts ever stopped a banker when the urge to "start making public announcements" strikes?

For crying out loud, newlurker, quit blowing smoke out your armpit.

Big Easy

-- Big Easy (city@careforgot.net), May 25, 1999.

Big Easy

Thank you for not posting the rest of my post, when I said I shared your concern, are reviewing the test results of the Telco 2000 forum, NRIC, and ATIS testing, and said that any bank worth its salt has contingency plans for off-line processing. We do this now. We were off Frame Relay for a full week last year, and we handled it. No one lost their account balances. That is what contingency planning is all about.

Y2K Readiness is not only about systems compliance, it is about contingency planning for those areas out of our control. We were not able to test with AT&T, but we have contingency plans that have been reviewed by an internal and external independent party, and will be tested (the contingency plans) before the end of 3Q99, PER FEDERAL REGULATIONS. (www.ffiec.gov)

-- newlurker (no@no.com), May 25, 1999.

newlurker,

Bankers specialise in lying - period.

if ya wanna know my perspective go lurk in the banking archives section and pay attention to imported data.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 25, 1999.

What forest? What trees?

I'll ask this again. Let's assume that every bank, Credit Union, S&L, various non-banks, etc. and every ATM on the planet are all 100.0000% Y2K fully compliant. That's our "given" or our "constant" in this equation.

Pick a poll, any poll. This one http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr990312.asp or maybe this one http://cnn.com/US/9901/10/y2k.poll/index.html or perhaps this one http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990108080346.htm your choice.

They ALL say that people plan to pull out "a little extra" money or all of it before 12/31/99. If only half of the people that say they are going to do that, do actually do that, the banks will all go insolvent and belly up.

Now due to the fact that banks, etc. are under no legal obligation what so ever to give you cash, matter of fact if your account is an interest bearing Negotionable Order for Withdrawl, they aren't even obligated to give you a check without 90 days notice, there will not be any banks runs in the classic sense of the word. However, you currently are not under any obligation to deposit money in your bank, you can have a "nur knab", that is a bank run done backwards. A bank run is people pulling money out of a bank, a "nur knab" is people not depositing money in a bank (but still writing checks). Different mechanism, same results.

When people find out they can't get their money out, I sure would not want to be a teller.

So, even if everything is 100.00% compliant, can anybody explain to me how the banking system is going to survive?

To answer the question: "Any suggestions on a better choice?" My answer, stuff. Food, tools, fuel, gold, books, guns, water purifiers, ammo, real estate, silver, anything of true tangible value.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), May 25, 1999.

Easy Andy. I haven't lied about Y2K yet.

-- Diana (dstubblefield@ldd.net), May 25, 1999.

According to what I've been reading over the past two years, there is only about $200.00 per depositor in the banks. That would last our family about one trip to the grocery store plus a tank of gas for our two cars.

Several of the polls I've read say two thirds of the people will get cash out. It will break the system.

Sure am glad I got a jumpstart on this nightmare.

-- GeeGee (GeeGee@madtown.com), May 25, 1999.