The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was designed to make sure the U.S. banking system could perform its vital role even in the most difficult of times. That is an enviable record. We should not underestimate the enormous reservoir of trust and confidence it has inspired.
Banking rests on public confidence and public confidence rests on deposit insurance.
As deposit insurer for our nation's banks and savings institutions, the FDIC must focus its attention on trends, sectors, and activities that pose risks to the insurance funds. The most immediate risk is the year 2000. Y2K presents all of us with a non-negotiable deadline. We are committed to meeting that challenge, and are encouraged by the early results of reviews of insured institutions. I want to underscore one important point about the FDIC, the American public, and you.