I will explain why in a moment. Our banks are in sound condition in Texas.
Banks continue to have stringent state and federal regulatory oversight.
For the last two years, banks have been under tremendous pressure to make sure their systems are ready and can function after the century date change. Strict timetables were established for the banks to assess their systems, test the systems, remediate those systems that failed the testing, develop contingency plans, and promote customer awareness. We examined each bank in Texas to review their assessments, and are in the middle of a second round of examinations to review the results of their testing. Those examinations will be completed by March 31, 1999. While no banks are rated unsatisfactory, we have taken enforcement actions against the handfull of banks that have not responded with the swiftness we expected.