News Release
Financial Sector Preparations for the Year 2000 - Issue 3
19 October 1998
The Bank publishes today the third issue of what has become known as the "Blue Book" - the summary of Financial Sector Preparations for the Year 2000.
The Blue Book aims to raise awareness of the millennium problem within the financial sector; to ensure that information about the specific initiatives in the financial sector is readily available; and where possible to promote co-ordination of remediation, testing and contingency plans.
In the May issue of the Blue Book we published the testing plans of the major infrastructure providers, and a provisional calendar of test dates. The new issue provides updated information on testing plans in the UK, and includes where possible reports on the outcome of tests undertaken so far. It also comments on a growing concern among major firms that large-scale industry-wide tests - and even mandatory testing with system providers - risk diverting scarce resources from more important remediation work; and that this cost may not justified by the likely benefits of such testing.
This issue of the Blue Book also examines contingency planning - including in particular the possible events around the date change itself and the risk mitigation strategies that may be pursued.
It also includes a report from APACS on the progress made in ensuring that retail payment systems are compliant.
The Blue Book concludes that the financial sector in the UK is well advanced in its Year 2000 work, both in relation to other sectors domestically and to the financial sector internationally. But Year 2000 is not a competitive issue, either for firms or for countries. All are to a greater or lesser extent dependent on the preparedness of others. In this context the co-ordinating work of Action 2000 in the UK, and bodies like the Joint Year 2000 Council internationally, will be critically important in ensuring a trouble-free date change in 2000.
