InformationWeek

The report, prepared over a six-month period by the SIA's Y2K contingency planning policy committee, emphasizes that the committee doesn't expect major problems, but it wants companies to be prepared and to minimize the impact in case they happen.

Gerald Corrigan, managing director at Goldman Sachs & Co. and chairman of the SIA committee, said in releasing the report that he's confident the industry is ready for the date change. The committee put together the paper because of the potential for damages to financial markets caused by Y2K problems. Other Wall Street firms represented on the committee or contributing to the report include Credit Suisse First Boston, J.P. Morgan Futures, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Salomon Smith Barney.

The SIA committee says it realizes that the business days surrounding Jan. 1, 2000, won't go by without some manageable glitches and problems. Among the panel's recommendations is that financial companies make sure they have key personnel in the right places at the right times and that they have primary and backup equipment and facilities-such as communications-available.

Companies should also identify all critical points of failure-both internal and external-that could arise at the time of the date change, and establish practices for monitoring points of failure by identifying which people are responsible for reporting problems.

Check Your Partners
The report advises financial firms to identify backup service providers for public utilities, telecommunications, transportation, information sharing, banking, clearance, settlement, and other critical services. It also suggests that companies create a profile of their major partners that addresses the partners' Y2K readiness and prepare for Y2K problems that might have an impact on international markets.