Contingency executive summary |
| The imminent advent of the year 2000 entails the impellent need to take all necessary
measures to ensure that activities and processes centering on broad use of computerized
information systems can achieve the capacity to handle the date change efficiently and in
time. The credit and financial business is highly exposed to the risks connected with the millennium bug, given the all-pervasive use of information and communications technology in day-to-day operations. This is one of the most technology-intensive sectors of the economy, where ICT has become a key strategic lever for the attainment of corporate objectives. A good many initiatives have been undertaken to increase awareness of the problem and publicize activities in this area. Initiatives have been dynamic and unified, transcending national frontiers, and they thus prefigure the date change in 2000 as a universal issue, consequent to and in keeping with the process of globalization that now embraces all parts of the economy. Project Year 2000 thus takes its rightful place as part of the overall strategies pursued by every bank, given the indispensable role of advanced technology, especially in ensuring efficient operation, in providing support to internal management, in operating payment systems, and in providing value-added services to customers. In a word, the adapation of its computer technology to the 2000 date change is a top priority for every bank. Italian banks are at an advanced stage of completion of Project Year 2000. Among other things, the project calls for the adaptation and testing of every component of the bank’s information system (including its external link-ups) and of the equipment, plant and other systems (its so-called "embedded system"). The crucial phase of the project is testing, i.e. simulation of the operation of the entire information system on future dates. The successful conclusion of the test constitutes certification of the successful outcome of the project itself. Yet, important though this is, it is not sufficient to guarantee the orderly transition to the new century. Even those who have acted scrupulously and on time are not immune to potential problems that could jeopardize continued provision of customer services at the accustomed levels, given the universal nature of the problem, which as noted also extends to interlocutors outside the banks. It is accordingly necessary for all banks to draft contingency plans directed specifically to handling any problems that may arise in connection with the date change, including those engendered by delays or problems in the conduct of the project itself. The measures foreseen must obviously take account of the characteristics of the individual bank, such as size, any facility management or outsourcing policies in place for EDP functions, the technologies in use, the bank’s products and services, and its channels of distribution. The development of contingency plans must be begun as soon as possible, both because this is a many-faceted, complicated tax requiring time and resources and because delay in this area threatens to undermine the bank’s credibility with customers, counterparties, and the financial markets in general, domestic and international both. This document is designed to assist the banks that are engaged in drawing up contingency plans, making available knowledge and information that can focus attention to the question and thus help prompt rapid response. The issues dealt with are:
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