This is interesting.I do not know if this was posted before.Sorry if it has.Seems this banks web sight is warning people. They seem to think they might have to limit withdrawls after Dec 8th. PUSH (THINKING ABOUT WITHDRAWING CASH FOR THE Y2K TRANSITION ?) http://www.1stcalgary.com/where/indexadvisor.html

-- me (y2kme1@hotmail.com), October 28, 1999

Answers

Attention Mr. Jack Sprat"

Sir,

I would like to commend you on your clear, concise, consistent, message to all on the forum. It is very effective in its succinctness.

At this time--Not wanting to steal your format---may I suggest you may want to start a more pertainent (imo) message for the next month.

*****- - THERE WILL BE BANK RUNS! - - *****

-- d.B. (dciinc@aol.com), October 28, 1999.

http://www.1stcalgary.com/where/main.html#y2kcash

Link

"It is important to note First Calgary Savings' cash supply will be dictated by the amount of Canadian currency made available by the Bank of Canada. To ensure your needs are met, we ask that additional withdrawals for Canadian currency, related to Y2K, be made by December 8, 1999. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the availability of Canadian currency after December 8, 1999 and you may be asked to accept 'no cost' cash alternatives (i.e. travelers' cheques, money orders, drafts)."

-- Now (that@IS.interesting), October 28, 1999.

Dear d.b That must stand for dead beat...... I know there will be bank runs,,,DA.I am sure y2kme1 knows too. I thank them for this post,its is just extra proof of times to come. Dont be a TROLL. Do`s anyone know how much researve Canada is going to have?I want to know how it compares to the USA. Thank you//////

-- sara (boohoo@you.com), October 28, 1999.

Sara,

I would politely ask that from now on you refrain from referring to me as "Dear DB" and in the same breath refering to me as a dead beat.

I am sorely aware that others judge us by our posts by:

What we say,how we say it and especially how we TYPE it.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!!

I can only assume that your first impression of me was not to your liking. Actually I dont think it your impression of me just Of my intuition that with the ridiculous fractional reserve system that we have and the populations desire to pull money at the last minute almost guarantees problems.

Anecdotal: go down to your bank and ask them (if you dare) how much cash you can pull out. How many ones,fives and tens they can accomodate you with. I guarantee you they will not have more than maybe $5000 in ones and the comprable amount in fives and tens.

yours truly,

prepared Deadbeat!! is that an oxy-(ya-MOron)

-- D.B. (dciinc@aol.com), October 28, 1999.

Link

=====

The Bank of Canada is laying on four times the amount of money it normally keeps on hand -- a staggering $23-billion -- just in case Y2K computer glitches spark a run on cash at year's end.

The central bank is also setting up a special command post to make sure communications run smoothly with the chartered banks at the dawn of the year 2000.

Part of the central bank's extra cash will be old notes waiting to be destroyed, and some will come from an advance printing of next year's supply. The amount of bank notes, or reserves, normally held by the central bank is about 20 per cent of the amount in circulation.

However, people are expected to take out extra cash because they are worried some computers may have trouble dealing with the year 2000, or Y2K, if they read 2000 as 00 and interpret it as 1900, causing chaos in the financial system.

As the country's central bank, the Bank of Canada issues all bank notes and is responsible for the smooth operation of the entire payment system.

Bonnie Schwab, chief of the banking operations department at the Bank of Canada, issued a statement last night saying that no serious cash famine is likely at the end of the year. "Nonetheless, it is important that the Canadians be confident that bank notes will be available to meet their needs," she said.

Scott Mullin, a vice-president of the Bank of Montreal, said the planned cash stockpile reflects the personality of Gordon Thiessen, head of the central bank.

"He's a prudent guy. Central bank governors are, by definition, conservative and want to ensure that all prudent measures have been taken to ensure that Canada's financial system is ready for this or any other situation."

Consumers and businesses will be able to continue to use other methods of payment, such as debit and credit cards and cheques, so the need for extra cash for the century-changeover weekend should not be any greater than for any other long weekend.

The bulk of the reserves will be held by the Bank of Canada in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. A portion will be held by financial institutions. Security carriers will be available to transport bank notes where they are needed.

On the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the long weekend -- Jan. 1, 2000, falls on the Saturday -- central bank staff will be on duty. They will be in regular communication with the chartered banks and the Canadian Bankers Association throughout the weekend.

There will also be an alternate command centre with its own power generator.

In the event of major disruptions, such as an electrical outage for the first week of January, the central bank is prepared to pare back its operations to the essential tasks needed by the financial system.

The central bank has been working with the chartered banks and other lenders to ensure automated teller machines will be well serviced and supplied with cash. The measures include more frequent restocking, and reprogramming machines so higher denominations of bills can be dispensed.

Besides planning the extra distribution measures, the chartered banks are working co-operatively to pass cash throughout the system. The central bank is boosting liquidity -- cash flow -- by setting up a special line of credit to make sure chartered banks and other lenders have enough cash, from Nov. 1 through the end of March.

=====

-- Hmmm (no@not.none), October 28, 1999.

Sara

d.b. is requesting one of the regulars on the forum to change his regularly blinking sign. This would not suggest that d.b. is making a joke of the post. Its more of a friendly gesture in a way.

Me

I am in Victoria BC actually and seen a newscast telling folks that it would be prudent to cash out of risky ventures if you aren't comfortable. The one thing that suprised me that "cashing out" was the message and not conversion to government bonds. Cash was mentioned a few times. Now a banking type might consider that a deposit but the bulk of us regular types don't.

But the offical recommendation is the "long weekend" mantra. Oh well.

Thanks for the info Eh!

-- Brian (imager@home.com), October 28, 1999.

Just have your checkbook ready, and enjoy the new millenium!!

-- Robert X. Cringely (I_sold_my_brain_for_@_big_chunk._o'money), October 28, 1999.

VITAL UPDATE ON CERTAIN IMMINENT SHORTAGE . . . INSIDER INFO . .

I went into my butchers shop today, and they had a big sign up saying . .

"BUY YOUR TURKEY EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS TO AVOID DISSAPOINTMENT"

THE PROOF . . THERE WILL BE A RUN ON TURKEYS !!!! THE SYSTEM OF CHRISTMAS WILL COLLAPSE. IT IS ALL INTERCONNECTED. WHAT IMPLICATIONS DOES THIS HAVE ON THE SUPPLY OF FIR TREES ? FAIRY LIGHTS ? TINSEL ?

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN.

Just think . . no Turkeys . .

(Ah well, I guess if I miss out I could always wait till 23/12 and pop in here.)

Affectionately yours

W

PS - Got MARKETING ?

-- W0lv3r1n3 (w0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999.

Getting a turkey now--a GOOD thing! Heck, just for letting the Beast know exactly what I'm putting on my shelves at home, I get a FREE one this year. Figure I'll save it. Cook it up, say, Dec. 27 or so. Have it on hand for the long weekend.

The looooooonnnnnngggggggg, long, long, long weekend.

-- Faith Weaver (suzsolutions@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999.

I see your butcher shares your inability to spell, Wolvy.

-- just plain (old@me.here), October 28, 1999.

My dear Just Plain,

You judge me too harshly. The text in bold was a quotation, and was therefore written "verbatim".

The mis-spelling was on the part of my butcher who, as a simple though honest and hardworking chap, wisely chose the butchery trade rather than attempting to make his fortune as an author or literary figure. I, of course, know full well that the correct spelling is "Disappointment". But I'm sure that you'd be far more critical of me, and rightly so, were I to misquote my sources.

Next time I shall use the pretentious "(sic)" device, just for you.

The real question is . . did you get the point ?

Kind Regards

W

-- W0lv3r1n3 (w0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999.

Hey WO1v3rln3 welcome back. Looks as though you've gotten a second wind. Spin something for me please.......!

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999.

Wolfie,

I think I get your point. The butcher advertises the possibility of a turkey shortage, exhorting customers to shop early. He does this as a marketing strategy to sell lots of turkeys so that his business makes more money. Likewise, a bank advertises the possibility of a cash shortage, exhorting customers to withdraw early. They do this as a marketing strategy to create a lot of withdrawals so that the bank will benefit by....how? Hmmm...maybe I don't get your point.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), October 28, 1999.

W0lv3r1n3 is a BONE HEAD.

-- HIS BUTCHER (the.butcher@cutting.up), October 28, 1999.

Just to get things back on topic, I'll wade in here with a few thoughts. First, "me," thanks for posting this with such a clear label. I brought it to this forum a couple of days ago but did not draw attention to it clearly enough.

I believe this CU's warning is a "first" and ought to be taken very seriously. From what has been posted on the topic so far it would appear that, although the central bank is aware there is/will be a run on cash, the bulk of it will be allocated to eastern Canada, where the bulk of the population (poopoolation for some) is. From the reading I have done it would also appear that the big banks will have access to more cash than will the comparatively smaller credit unions. Thus, it makes sense that the warning of potential lack of cash would come first from a credit union. While the banks may never warn its customers of a possible similar scenario, the same could also be true of them...banks, especially those in the west, may well run out of cash at almost any point between now and rollover.

I, too, am in Calgary and bank at FCF. I also bank at TD. While the statements of the latter about y2k have all been happy face to date, yesterday I noticed a first there. Withdrew $200 from a TD ATM and received $100 of it in 50-dollar bills. In many years of using these ATM's for larger amounts I have never received the 50 denomination. Something is happening with our cash supply already, IMO.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), October 28, 1999.

Hey, folks...get your turkey here...his name is W0lverine!!! LOL

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 28, 1999.

The Canadian Banks seem to be a lot more "forthright" about this issue than our US banks. I wonder why?

-- thinkIcan (thinkIcan@make.it), October 28, 1999.

Anybody else besides me notice this patronizing remark about personal safety?

http://www.1stcalgary.com/where/main.html#y2kcash

Link

"We recommend you prepare for the year-end as you would any other long weekend and keep as much cash as you will require for the holiday period. In the interest of personal safety we may limit daily cash withdrawals."

-- Now (that@IS.interesting), October 28, 1999.

Now,

Yes, that's a good observation. Seems to be some real problems with these contradictory statements:

1. We recommend you prepare for the year-end as you would any other long weekend and keep as much cash as you will require for the holiday period.

2. To ensure your needs are met, we ask that additional withdrawals for Canadian currency, related to Y2K, be made by December 8, 1999.

So in other words, you will really need to take out enough to last from December 8 until all the way through the holiday period, which amounts to about 4 weeks worth of cash. Then they say they might begin to limit withdrawals, which means depending on how much the limit is, you may have to start making withdrawals now on an almost daily basis and store most of it away. If anything it seems this policy would create bank runs, not prevent them. Weird.

-- @ (@@@.@), October 28, 1999.

RUOK

A tad too simplistic.

A butcher places that sign in October in order to ascertain as accurately as possible how many turkeys he should buy so as to be able to maximise his sales at the end of the year, but not to get left with a heap of unsold turkeys that he has to sell in January at a huge discount.

Being able to supply all your potential customers (i.e having sufficient inventory), without leaving yourself with an overstock, is a major business issue, and if you can get as many of them as possible to let you know in advance, you minimise the risk.

The bank (I'm sure) would also be concerned that they could wind up unable to properly respond to their customer's requests later in the year, and are therefore practicing the same prudent forethought.

Think about it this way. You're not that likely to just up and buy a turkey from a different butcher, unless your regular supplier has run out. The butcher loses nothing by asking you in advance. In fact, there is a spin-off benefit to the butcher, in that you will interpret his early warning as a "value added" customer service, thus promoting your loyalty to his store.

The bank dont want people running off to other banks either. So they want to get an idea of how much hard currency they need to order. If possible, they'd like to offset a fair amount of those transactions before the busy time. (The end of the year always hits banks hard in terms of currency, because of people withdrawing funds for gift shopping and the other expenses that arise). Their customers will also think "Wow, my bank really care about me, they're looking out for my best interests". Win-win.

Get it now ?

Kind Regards

W

-- W0lv3r1n3 (w0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999.

RUOK

A tad too simplistic.

A butcher places that sign in October in order to ascertain as accurately as possible how many turkeys he should buy so as to be able to maximise his sales at the end of the year, but not to get left with a heap of unsold turkeys that he has to sell in January at a huge discount.

Being able to supply all your potential customers (i.e having sufficient inventory), without leaving yourself with an overstock, is a major business issue, and if you can get as many of them as possible to let you know in advance, you minimise the risk.

The bank (I'm sure) would also be concerned that they could wind up unable to properly respond to their customer's requests later in the year, and are therefore practicing the same prudent forethought.

Think about it this way. You're not that likely to just up and buy a turkey from a different butcher, unless your regular supplier has run out. The butcher loses nothing by asking you in advance. In fact, there is a spin-off benefit to the butcher, in that you will interpret his early warning as a "value added" customer service, thus promoting your loyalty to his store.

The bank dont want people running off to other banks either. So they want to get an idea of how much hard currency they need to order. If possible, they'd like to offset a fair amount of those transactions before the busy time. (The end of the year always hits banks hard in terms of currency, because of people withdrawing funds for gift shopping and the other expenses that arise). Their customers will also think "Wow, my bank really care about me, they're looking out for my best interests". Win-win.

Get it now ?

Kind Regards

W

PS - to the rest of you big-brains who responded to my post with your infinitely witty and original remarks, I recommend you grab websters and check on the meaning of "IRONY".

(Clue :- it isn't an adjective used to describe metallic properties).

Toodle pip !!! (as NOBODY (except the occasional American tourist) says here).

-- W0lv3r1n3 (w0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999.

W, Your theory definitely does apply to most goods and services (Globe and Mail printed an article a couple of days ago addressing exactly that quandary.) But I don't believe it does apply to this Credit Union, an established one of 25 years with a large number of customers who have been with it since the beginning. Since the total amount of cash available to it is finite, I think this is a CYA statement in case it does run out. And, perhaps, the statement is guided by the increased cash withdrawals it is presently seeing.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), October 28, 1999.