UK's Financial Services Authority plans Jan 1 Y2K status report at 0400 GMT

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UK's FSA plans Jan 1 Y2K status report at 0400 GMT

10:42 a.m. Dec 17, 1999 Eastern

By Bernard Hickey

LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA), which is overseeing efforts by banks and other financiers to thwart the Year 2000 computer bug, said on Friday it expected to issue its first status report at around 0400 GMT on January 1.

FSA Millennium Event Office manager Vernon Everitt told a news conference he expected to issue a general update on ``customer facing'' systems like cash machines, online banking and credit card networks at around 0400 GMT on January 1.

The FSA would then survey financiers to see how their internal systems had coped with the date change and release a statement around 2000 GMT on January 1.

In subsequent days, the FSA would issue daily updates on how Britain's financial system is coping with Millenium computer issue.

Everitt said the FSA would not comment on specific banks problems and expected each institution to respond to any requests for information about its own systems.

``We won't be the rumour management facility for the weekend,'' Everitt said.

He warned against normal day-to-day glitches being mistaken for Millenium bug problems.

``Minor glitches happen every day of the year and the FSA does not expect the date change period to be any different.''

Banks, insurers and finance groups also had an extra-long weekend to fix any problems before effective business resumption on January 4, he pointed out.

The FSA's Millennium event office would be open 24 hours from 0800 GMT on Friday December 31 to 2000 GMT on January 5, with a staff of about 25 working on any one shift.

FSA managing director Michael Foot would be present in the FSA's offices at Canary Wharf in London's Docklands over the date change.

The FSA would begin monitoring the effects of the Y2K on British based financial institutions from about 1100 GMT on December 31 when New Zealand is the first to see the date change.

Lloyds TSB Plc owns one of New Zealand's biggest banks, National Bank of New Zealand (NBNZ). HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc would be the next to see any effects, with large operations throughout Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

The FSA will publish any statements on its website (www.fsa.gov.uk).

ONS Y2K SURVEY

Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday it planned to conduct a sample survey of companies in 2000 to guage the date change's impact on their activities.

The survey would be carried out in each of the first eight weeks of the year, but the ONS said it would consider discontinuing the survey it it became clear there had been only a minimal impact.

The results would be published on the Friday of each week in which the survey was conducted, the ONS said.

The ONS said 1,200 businesses had agreed to particapate in the simple telephone-based survey.

KPMG/BBA Y2K FORUM

Elsewhere, accountancy and consulting group KPMG said it would hold an Internet-based forum in tandem with the British Bankers Association (BBA) where particapants could notify and discuss Y2K developments on a communal website as they ocurr.

The forum would be a closed group and would be on the website www.bba2000.com, KPMG said, adding the subscription for the forum was 2,000 pounds per user.

Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), December 18, 1999.


If all the ATM machines in the UK were spewing money skyward we would be told it was an every day glitch.

Information on the rollover will be harder to come by than it is now. Let us hope the net stays up.

-- ghost (fading into the@background.com), December 18, 1999.


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