In Brief: Senate Panel Publishes Awaited Y2K Update

The Senate Special Committee on the Year-2000 Technology Problem released a 163-page report Tuesday summarizing its work to date and highlighting remaining challenges.

"Investigating the Impact of the Year-2000 Problem" delves into five industries, including financial services. The report also covers other private-sector businesses and various federal, state, and local government agencies.

Since the committee's creation in April 1998, it has held 10 hearings on the year-2000 issue. "The committee is among the most broad-based, best- informed bodies in existence, yet it cannot predict what will occur on Jan. 1, 2000," wrote Chairman Robert F. Bennett, R-Utah, and Vice Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn.

The report painted a generally favorable picture for banks, but it also identified several concerns, including computer links with foreign banks, incomplete contingency planning, and insufficient public disclosure.

It also warned that banks may be more susceptible to fraud, because year-2000 repairs required them to share data on the inner workings of their computer systems.

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