STORY:
Don't Panic Says Fed Official

Federal Reserve officials urged against hoarding cash or avoiding banks as New Year's Eve approaches.

"The financial services you've come to rely on -- checks, ATMs, debit cards, credit cards, direct payment and direct deposit, for example -- will operate normally," said Robert Parry, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Parry's comments are part of an effort by the nation's central bank to assure Americans that the year 2000 computer glitch won't bring the nation to a standstill after New Year's Eve.

Despite assurances that most financial systems will be ready, federal officials say that some isolated problems could strike but the Federal Reserve is taking precautions.

For example, in the event that some consumers make mass withdrawals at the end of the year, the Fed has set aside $200 billion in cash that it can send to financial institutions, $50 billion more than it has ever made available.

The Bee quotes Fed officials as saying that 10,600 banks, or 95 percent of the nation's financial institutions, have successfully retooled their computers to deal with year 2000 issues.

Source: Sacramento Bee

DATE: 6/04/99

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