Capital Brief: Banking Panel to Address Year-2000 Bug

House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach has scheduled a Feb. 5 hearing and vote on his proposed legislation to tackle the year- 2000 computer problem.

The Iowa Republican would give thrift and credit union regulators the authority to examine software vendors for year-2000 glitches, according to a draft of the bill. The Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration requested these inspection powers to put them on par with bank regulators.

The draft bill also would require banking, thrift, and credit union regulators to offer seminars and guidelines to financial institutions on the feared millennial computer meltdown.

Witnesses scheduled to testify are: NCUA Chairman Norman E. D'Amours; OTS Director Ellen S. Seidman; James D. Shelton, chairman of First Federal Savings and Loan Association, East Hartford, Conn.; and representatives of two credit union trade groups.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER