The millennium bug may occur when some computer programs, especially older ones, fail when the date changes to 2000. No one knows how bad the problem might be.
Predictions range from isolated, annoying glitches to catastrophic failures.
And while he has been told to expect no more than brief electrical and phone outages at worst, Weaver said his bank could operate indefinitely without either. Small banks like Montana First may have an easier time adapting in a crisis, said Weaver. Some of the Flathead's more technologically advanced banks depend on mainframe computers in distant cities. Banks are under pressure from the comptroller of the currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to fix any bugs. And because of worries that banks might fold if their borrowers go out of business, the financial institutions are being pushed to get proof of Y2K compliance from their customers, said Weaver.