Maybe this has been going on for a while, but it was new to me. The NJ Department of Banking & Insurance is running a Y2K public service announcement on the radio. Message: watch out for scam artists, keep your money in the bank--and check it out with your own bank.

Banking is the wildest of the Y2K wild cards to me. I believe the US banks are adequately remediated, but unlike power or telecom, banks will live or die as much on confidence as on the quality of remediation. It's going to be an interesting interplay of official spin, media hype and mass psychology. It may depend on whether the media have any other calamities or scandals to keep them busy. If Y2K is all they've got, look out.

-- Thinman (thinman38@hotmail.com), August 03, 1999

Answers

I agree, this one should be fascinating to watch. Public opinion polls seem to suggest that if people do only one thing to prepare its take "some money out of the bank". If only a fraction of those saying they will do, the system crashes. So do you hold back and trust the system, or do you go to the head of the line and maybe help cause the very problem you fear? Ladies and gentleman place your bets..

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), August 04, 1999.