Banker scared

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My husband has lately had several visits with the president of our locally owned bank. This bank has claimed 100% y2k compliance with all the state required testing, etc. But this president, after reading a number of Internet postings that we printed off is now scared for his survival. He and at least 2 of his tellers are requesting help in organizing their storage needs.

This, from the president of a bank that is supposedly 100% compliant and should have no worries about operating after the roll over. Another GI?!

-- linda (smitmom@hotmail.com), March 30, 1999

Answers

My cousin is friends with the president of a rather large country.. This country has claimed 100% y2k compliance with all the required testing, etc. But this president, after reading a number of Internet postings that we printed off is now scared for his survival. He and at least 2 of his secretaries are requesting help in organizing their storage needs.

This, from the president of a country that is supposedly 100% compliant and should have no worries about operating after the roll over. Another GI?!

Only kidding. Could you provide us with some sort of verification though?

-- Bambi (NothingGrows@WhereBambiGoes.com), March 30, 1999.


I will not announce his name. This was private conversation and needs to be respected. The bank however is located in Brainerd, MN.

-- linda (smitmom@hotmail.com), March 30, 1999.

If I, or any of the other sane people on this forum posted "pro"Y2K stuff the way your have phrased this, we would be shouted out of dodge.

odd that isn't it....."So, of course I want to see y2k bring down the system, all over the world. I have hoped for this all of my adult life." -- Gary North

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), March 30, 1999.


Sounds like a GI to me, but...The printouts you showed him--what were the postings about? Were they about problems with reliability of data in interbank transactions, or the grid, or bank runs, or something else? It's hard from what you posted to tell exactly what he's concerned about. Don't get me wrong, having a few more GIs is IMHO a good thing.

-- Don (whytocay@hotmail.com), March 30, 1999.

Get off that soapbox Y2K Pro, you're boring us to tears. Are you EVER going to contribute anything to this forum beyond idiotic remarks? <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), March 30, 1999.


The reason why Don's asking for more specifics on posts is that most people posting to this forum don't play the gossip game. We like to be able to look at something resembling evidence before we bite. Otherwise Trolls bite back.

For example, if I were a troll, I might respond, "Brainerd? Wasn't that a setting in the movie "Fargo," that was alleged to have been based on a true story? The Cohen brothers, who produced the film, really stretched the truth on that one.

-- Gearhead (2plus2@motown2.com), March 30, 1999.


Sorry it has taken a while to get back to you. This site got so busy I couldn't do anything!

Yes, I understand about gossip. I just need to be careful of a private conversation and a little matter of trust. However, to answer the question of what we gave him to read, the postings were from several places. There were 2 from Gary North about the overall effect that may happen - TEOTWAWKI -, power grids going down, bank/financial failure, food shortages, views from programmers and why the problem is systemic. Some of everything. There were several printouts taken from this discussion group and a couple of quotes from "Timebomb 2000" before Ed took the text off his website (just a page or 2 here and there). **Hope you don't mind, Ed.** He still has faith in his particular establishment, but understands now that it really isn't an island that will function alone. He is worried about the time left to prepare, what to do first and where to start. I wish the whole community would get worried, but we don't see much of that, no matter how much we "preach."

(BTW Please! . . . "Fargo" was such an embarrassment!)

-- linda (smitmom@hotmail.com), March 30, 1999.


Sounds to me like your banker is very impressionable. For someone to get 'scared' over a couple of printouts from the internet is just a bit on the weanie side.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 30, 1999.


As I said, it was more that "a couple." I don't consider myself a "weanie" and it was printouts from the Internet that got my attention. Isn't that the purpose of all this? To relay information to people so they understand the possibilities and prepare while there is still even a little time left?

-- linda (smitmom@hotmail.com), March 30, 1999.

Seems to me that the president of a bank that has claimed Y2K readiness would have a little more faith in the system. He's obviously dealt with more than just his bank to make that claim. Anyone who makes major decisions about their life/livelyhood based on some internet articles needs to really take a good look at themselves in the mirror and ask "Just how gullible am I?"

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 30, 1999.



It was the Coen brothers, not Cohen, that did "Fargo."

As for making decisions based on what you read on the Net: Why not? It's as good a source of info as any, if not better, once you've learned how to sift through all the crap. You certainly don't believe everything Dan Rather says, do you...?

-- skeptical (of@network.news), March 30, 1999.


It all depends on where you get it. Linda specifically said that a couple of the printouts were from Gary North. If this guy told me it was gonna be dark tonight I'd have a hard time believing him. He's about 0-fer on all his predictions and very extreme in his beliefs. Not someone I would refer my worst enemy to for advice, much less my banker for Christ's sake! I would listen to Dan Rather before I would even entertain the thought of listening to Gary North.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 30, 1999.


Well, Deano, if I want to present someone with both extremes of Y2K, where else would I get a #10 on the scale? It was the possibility of that extreme that got my attention. It doesn't matter what the odds are of a #10 happening, if there is even the slightest fraction of a possibility, I want to be prepared to survive. The Gary North documents serve a purpose and now there will be 1 less person (actually 3 families) that I have to worry about coming to my door in need of food and supplies. I'll use anything I can get my hands on to accomplish that. And if this is all a mistake, I'll spend the next year or two eating it with great relish.

This man had a job to do (complying with regulations). He did it and apparently never researched the possibility of the negative side of Y2K. Now he is and wants to move fast to prepare. You want him to stop just because he might look a little gullible?

-- linda (smitmom@hotmail.com), March 30, 1999.


Deano,

Glad to see you back! You've been low profile lately, but it's good to see you're still making disparaging remarks and generally ridiculing those of us who believe there will be Y2K problems.

Keep up the good work! It will certainly enhance your credibility and your ability to communicate effectively with the members of this forum.

NOT!

-- Nabi Davidson (nabi7@yahoo.com), March 30, 1999.


Well let's see,

here is a bank president secure in his institution's Y2K compliance that all of a sudden overnight ( even quicker from the sounds of it ) thinks the sky is falling because he saw some internet printouts...

Sounds like classic over reaction syndrome, I wouldn't bet it holds any more Y2K proof of disaster then a collander holds water.

-- (`@``.com), March 30, 1999.



linda,

Thanks for sharing your banker's story. I once shared from a discussion I had ...

Y2K, Banking, Small Business (SBA) And Discussing Our Near Future (Conversation With A GI Banker)

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 000T1L

The anecdotal stories have their place too.

Discernment helps in all things. (Especially with rude posters -- they KNOW who they are).

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 30, 1999.


Y2K Pro's observation seems accurate enough to me. Does anyone ever put the shoe on the other foot just even for amusement?

What If I posted an account where I said my good frend the president of a bank was scared of real problems, but I printed out a couple of Norm's postings to give him, and he immediately saw the light and sold his generator? Would anyone take it seriously?

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), March 30, 1999.


I first saw information about the Melissa macro virus on the Internet.

After reading the first reference I saw, I applied the changes to our Network to combat the virus.

Because of only needing one reference to it and my quick reaction time, according to some this would make me 'alarmist', 'gullible', 'easily freaked out'.

I don't take chances with my life or my job. I do investigate further on some matters if I need to.

If I was a bank manager who knew how much was spent in my bank and other branches on the Y2K problem, who would know how much was fixed and probably also know what failed testing at the time and what didn't. If I was a bank manager and a sane logical person then I would also know that no company, utility, financial institution, government agency, etc can honestly say they are 100% compliant.

Then as a bank manager someone gives me some articles and views from people about the potential problem of Y2K. Would I just dismiss it out of hand or take it seriously? I'd take it seriously.

When make a decision about something we base those decisions on the information that is on hand, that includes your extensive knowledge base in your own mind and the older you are the more extensive it is. It comes from the jobs you have done in your life, your school experiences, a tragedy in the family, things you've seen, heard, read, breathed, experienced, smelled, touched, etc.

Views and ideas do change over time, and it changes as you receive more information and more experiences.

My experience and knowledge about the workings of computers and the internet warns me that yes, the Melissa macro virus is a potential problem that could affect our network and customers of where I work.

My experience and knowledge about the workings of computers and software in particular warns me that yes, that Y2K is a potential problem that could affect not only myself but others as well.

So then I prepare or combat whatever it is to minimize the potential danger to my life, my job, my friends and family, and fellow human beings.

I have to go to work now, when I jump into my car I'm going to put my seat belt on. This will minimize the chances of me losing my life if I was involved in a car accident. There is no way I can 100% guarantee that I will not have a car accident on the way to work this morning so I better be safer than sorry eh?

Regards, Simon Richards

-- Simon Richards (simon@wair.com.au), March 30, 1999.


Linda,

Thank you for the post.

What we're not doing on this thread is talking about whether a 100% compliant bank could still conceivably encounter Y2K problems. I was using a news search engine last night and came across a letter to the editor of a Utah newspaper.

The following of course is just one man's opinion, but I think his points should be addressed. Are any of the following scenarios with 100% compliant banks more than remotely possible?

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,75000989,00.html?

Report the real Y2K story

As the emergency preparedness coordinator for my ward in the LDS Church and as a computer professional, I am following the Y2K issues with great interest. I am afraid that your article in the March 3 edition on Utah banks and Y2K falls a bit short of accurate and in- depth reporting. And it fails to critically question the statements behind the PR being issued by our banks.

The threats I see to the banking system are:

1. Bank runs caused by fearful depositors withdrawing cash beyond the banks' reserves. If the information from recent polls is correct, the Federal Reserve and the banking system will be about $200 billion short of cash demand.

2. External computer systems necessary to transfer money from one bank to another may not be compliant. If this occurs, the banks will not be able to move money electronically. This could freeze many payment transactions between one bank and another, between banks and the Federal Reserve or between banks and other businesses.

3. Noncompliant foreign banks may cause transactions to freeze or miscalculations in account balances/transaction/payments.

4. Noncompliance in other economic sectors where banks have lent money may cause large loan defaults. If Y2K failures cause industrial plants to shut down because they aren't able to run their computers or because they aren't able to get the materials and parts they need because some other company's computers don't work or because they can't get the energy they need to run the plant because of a Y2K induced oil shortage, they will default on their debt. They will also lay off their workers, who will also default on their debts.

5. Derivative exposure. Investments in derivatives could easily evaporate from either actual industry failures or investor panic.

It would require a psychotic banker to publicly admit that our banking system is threatened by Y2K. That would cause the bank to fail, perhaps a bit prematurely. Nevertheless, the banks are threatened, as is almost every other part of our worldwide economy. The Deseret News should report accurately and honestly, in the spirit of professional journalism. Dig beneath the surface and find the real story on Y2K.

Tad B. Wimmer

Bountiful

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-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), March 30, 1999.


Unfortunately, many who become GI's because of reading Gary North become almost pollyanna like a couple of months later. Hopefully this bank president will not become just another troll on our forum.

-- Bambi (Nothing@grows.the), March 31, 1999.

Nabi - I've never said don't prepare. I just don't think it's necessary to go overboard. It was the crack about 'fearing for his survival' after reading some fanatic's interent articles. And from one who's wrong a helluva lot more than he's right. I'd suggest the man do some research on Gary North before heeding any of his advice.

Oh yeah, I actually have a life Nabi. I don't own a PC. If I got one then I would be like you and I just can't allow that to happen.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 31, 1999.


Y2K Pro= Jimmy Bagga Doughnuts!

-- none (none@none.none), March 31, 1999.

None@none.none = Y2Kbagga@dieter.com

-- Mutha Milne (y2knone@sickoftrolls.com), March 31, 1999.

Deano, Have you seen "Statements of the Experts" half way down the forum page? These people don't share North's past or current beliefs or experiences and yet most of them are expecting a y2k 7 and up. Somewhere the spark in your reasoning had to jump a gap to bring in the personal issues of North. See it? MJ

-- MJ (MJ@discerning.mind), March 31, 1999.

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