##platz germany ”, or germany as a financial centre. above and beyond the procedures in large - value payments, the year 2000 problem naturally impinges on all the other business areas in which the central banks are involved. i would therefore like to use this opportunity to give you a brief overview of our year 2000 project. the bundesbank is giving top priority this year to the year 2000 problem and took steps at an early stage to ensure the year 2000 compliance of its in - house procedures and systems. for example, for some years now we have been paying attention to year 2000 compliance not only in the design of new procedures but also when modifying and updating existing ones. the introduction of the euro on january 1, 1999 gave us a special advantage. this meant that a large number of systems and applications were completely redesigned and put into operation by that date, with due consideration naturally being given to year 2000 requirements. this gave us extra time to come to grips with the much broader year 2000 problem. in 1997, the bundesbank established a working group for the year 2000 problem. this working group initially drew up an inventory of all the affected systems and procedures. any required adjustment measures were initiated. we contacted the suppliers and manufacturers and awarded the necessary conversion contracts. current activities are geared to the deadline of july 1, 1999, which was set by the bundesbank ’ s management for completing the year 2000 readiness of all the affected systems. an earlier date would not have been possible on account of the priority of carrying out conversion work for stage three of european monetary union. preparations are running on schedule. preparation work in the european system of central banks is also running full steam ahead. a committee of senior representatives of the 15 national central banks and the european central bank, who are experts in computer technology, is coordinating the steps which are needed to make systems and applications throughout the escb — especially those used for refinancing and payments in the emu — ready for the year 2000. at present, the systems and applications between the national central banks and the ecb are undergoing intensive testing in order to make certain that the processing of data is year 2000 compliant. despite all the efforts which are being undertaken at our level, it should not be forgotten that the ability of the entire banking industry to function depends on an adequate supply of basic amenities such as electricity, gas, water and telecommunications services. hence, our preparations must not be confined to testing our own systems and applications. precaution

discussion forums dealing with the year 2000 problem. nationally, it maintains close contact with the german banking industry through the year 2000 forum of the central credit committee. it is also represented in the expert group at the federal ministry of economics and technology. in addition, the bundesbank is cooperating closely with the federal banking supervisory authority on y2k issues. in may 1998, for example, a questionnaire on the progress of conversion work was sent to a total of 3, 851 institutions, computer centres and selected stockbrokers and subsequently analysed by the federal banking supervisory office in cooperation with the bundesbank. above and beyond that, the banking supervisory authorities maintain a permanent dialogue with the major internationally operating institutions. because of their key position in payments, the land central banks and the computer centres of the savings bank sector as well as the central institutions and computer centres of the cooperative banking sector are included in these discussions. internationally, the bundesbank cooperates in the committees set up at the bank for international settlements. i would like to highlight the bundesbank ’ s participation in the joint year 2000 council. with the backing of the basel committee on banking supervision, the committee on payment and settlement systems ( cpss ), and the area of securities and insurance, represented by the international organization of securities commissions ( iosco ) and the international association of insurance supervisors ( iais ), the aim of this body is to improve the exchange of information on y2k issues worldwide. various publications have dealt with key topics, most recently the necessity of maintaining contingency plans. an active dialogue with the supervisory authorities takes place at the conferences initiated by the joint year 2000 council. preparations are under way for a further round table under the aegis of the bank for international settlements at the beginning of july. this discussion, to which 200 guests from around the world are expected, will focus on the subject of contingency planning. in summary, it can be said that, in the time which remains, the bundesbank, being aware of its special position and duties, will take all the measures that are needed to ensure that its systems undergo a smooth transition from 1999 to 2000. in its national and international cooperation, the bundesbank is making a major contribution to promoting preparatory work in the public and private sectors. the federal banking supervisory office has announced just recently that the present stage of year 2000 readiness achieved by the german credit institutions meets the expectations of the banking supervisory authorities and that,