Year 2000 Preparedness at Seafirst

The following is a Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure

Year 2000 (Y2K) readiness is a top priority at Seafirst Bank. When NationsBank Corporation and BankAmerica Corporation merged on September 30, 1998, Year 2000 preparedness was well underway within each organization. Our goal is to continue business as usual, making the Year 2000 date change at Seafirst a non-event for our customers. In order to do this, we are capitalizing on the best practices of the Year 2000 project teams and working toward Year 2000 readiness. Our project teams consist of business and technical professionals who have the support of executive leaders.

As of March 31, 1999, we have substantially completed any necessary replacement, modification or retirement of impacted components for systems that are vital to the successful continuance of core business activity. We expect to meet the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council guidelines for completion of these efforts by June 30, 1999. Our Year 2000 readiness efforts will continue through 1999, with an emphasis on quality assurance.

Project Guidelines

Three main principles drive our efforts:

Minimize any Y2K-related impact to customers Maintain Y2K readiness as a top business priority Work with our internal and external business partners to achieve Y2K readiness

Project Management to date has:

Obtained support at the highest levels of the company by establishing senior management advisory and review boards. Implemented a due diligence process for assessing the Y2K preparedness of our vendors. Addressed Y2K concerns in material vendor contracts. Developed processes for communicating Y2K information to customers, correspondents, agencies, and vendors. Implemented corporate-wide Y2K awareness and educational activities for associates. Tracked systems and evaluated progress of remediation efforts. Provided progress updates to management and regulatory agencies.

Project Progress

Since beginning Y2K initiatives in 1995, we have made substantial progress. Some of the accomplishments and ongoing initiatives include:

Analysis

Completed corporate-wide inventory of application and system software (in-house developed, vendor supplied, service-bureau related, interfaces, payment, and clearing systems, etc.) and hardware (mainframes, personal computers, point of sale terminals, etc.) Completed an inventory of internal equipment that uses embedded computer chips that may be date sensitive. Examples include: ATMs, building security systems, fire alarm systems, identification and access systems, date stamps, and elevators Determined steps necessary to remedy date-related issues associated with the components related to these systems

Remediation (replacement, modification, or retirement of necessary components identified during the analysis):

Upgraded hardware and software to Year 2000 ready versions or releases Renovated existing computer program code, to fix Y2K-related problems within mission critical and other necessary applications Implemented required computer code changes

Testing and Certification

Installed dedicated "Time Machine" test environments which emulate a Year 2000 environment Tested revised application software for functionality, using significant dates before, on, and after January 1, 2000 Installed the tested application software into production, as necessary, to verify that the application processes correctly in the current bank operating environments Performed additional levels of validation tests as required

Preserving Readiness

We continue to validate that a component maintains its Y2K readiness through 1999 and beyond, after it has been tested and verified as being Year 2000 ready Scheduled system changes will be controlled in the fourth quarter of 1999, and systems vital to the successful continuance of core business activity will be re-tested.

Business Continuity Planning:

Designed a Y2K specific corporate business continuity plan to address any disruptions to business which may impact our customers, associates, and business partners Incorporated existing business continuity plans that consider business disruptions resulting from natural disasters, utility outages, and other occurrences Continue to test and refine, as necessary, our business continuity plans

An important part of Year 2000 readiness preparations at Seafirst is our work with those groups we refer to as "business partners". These groups include:

Customers As our most important business partner, our objective is to maintain the complete confidence of our customers. Our goal is to make Y2K changes invisible to our customers. When a change is identified that will impact customers, we are communicating with them as appropriate.

Vendors and Suppliers Like other businesses, many of our computer systems and business operations are provided and maintained by outside suppliers. Vendors and suppliers were asked to submit their Y2K readiness plans and to demonstrate sufficient Y2K readiness in order to continue doing business with Seafirst. We continue to monitor the Year 2000 readiness of our vendors and suppliers based on these plans; and when possible, we are testing those vendor supplied products. Should circumstances warrant it, we will pursue alternative vendor/supplier support.

Business, Government and Industry We continue to stay involved with a large range of business and financial organizations, as well as government agencies, which share a common concern regarding the enormous scope of the Y2K challenge. This involvement reflects our recognition of the mutual benefits of shared information and business networking. Banks are working together as an industry to provide the best service possible to our collective customers.

For updates on the Y2K Project, you can check our other Internet sites at: www.nationsbank.com/y2k and www.bankamerica.com.

-- Same as B-4 (NWphotog@Foxcomm.net), July 01, 1999

Answers

Yippie, we are all saved!! Y2K came and went, Eat those beans now!!!!

-- Its (all@good.news), July 01, 1999.

Interesting. BankAmerica is one of those 'too big to fail' banks and with the merger, you know the government will bail them out if at all possible if something goes wrong. I have a real problem with Nations operating style. The accounts I have with them are continualy coming up with major problems. Losing deposits, getting deposits that aren't mine, and no explanations. Downright rude when you ask what the heck is going on. I have had them post checks twice . If they can't keep their accounts stright now, what happens if something is screwed up BEFORE they get the data? I can't help it. I still don't trust the banks...any of them. But they are the only game in town.

-- Lobo (atthelair@yahoo.com), July 02, 1999.