broad a group of nations, numbering well over 100. it is important that emerging and newly industrialized economies making good progress toward preparedness, and there are many, disclose that as clearly as possible. market participants should look for and make those disclosures part of their decisionmaking. those “ emerging market economies ” that are not making satisfactory progress should disclose their status and seek assistance as they work to remediate mission - critical systems and engage in contingency planning. in particular, financial institution preparedness can be hampered by a lack of preparedness in critical infrastructure – telecommunications, power, and water. this cannot be taken for granted. i would, however, note that many of the countries that may be the farthest behind are also those that are least dependent upon technology. similarly, many of these countries have the fewest links to the international financial markets, and their performance during the century date change is least likely to have a significant cross - border impact. finally, good contingency planning, including manual work - arounds may avoid serious problems. ultimately, however, systems will have to be fixed or replaced, whether before the century date change or after, and the sooner the process is started, the better. conclusion to sum up, i believe that the us banking system is largely ready for the year 2000 and that major foreign financial institutions generally are working diligently to be ready as well by 1 january. thus, i believe that the year 2000 in the financial sector of the united states and many other countries is really less of a technical issue now than it was last year at this time. moreover, the relevant regulators here and around the world know what needs to be done over the next five months, and are communicating with the business leaders managing the world ’ s financial institutions. the progress we see in the global financial sector and the evidence from successful cross - border and domestic tests are also positive signs. thus, with the technical and business elements generally making good progress, the real issue remaining for the united states and other leading countries is that of public awareness, understanding and, ultimately, public confidence. we should all recognize that the year 2000 event is unique in that we all know that it will occur, but exactly what will occur is uncertain. in this environment, we should listen to the most reasonable and responsible sources. part of maintaining public confidence is fact - based disclosure both to the public at large and to market counterparties. disclosure still remains an issue for some, particularly as “

’ s financial operations. these systems have generally implemented extensive internal testing and most are testing with participants as well. the large test last month does seem to confirm that year 2000 readiness has improved in many of the more important financial sectors around the world. avoiding complacency we should not let these recent successes lead to complacency, either domestically or internationally. domestically, institutions should continue to make preparations for the rollover period through event management and contingency planning, and in a very few cases by further remediation work. most importantly, this should include maintaining an active effort to keep customers appropriately informed. because of the important role of public confidence in sustaining financial stability during an event such as the year 2000 rollover, in which there are inevitable uncertainties, persistent and effective public communication is essential. full and fact - based information will certainly help individuals maintain perspective and encourage them to avoid taking needless risks. on the other hand, incomplete information or misunderstanding may cause some to take risks such as shifting deposits from banks, or withdrawing large sums of cash, or even making unreasoned decisions about other assets they hold. without solid perspective about year 2000 preparations, others may fall victim to year 2000 - related frauds or be asked to buy year 2000 products and services of questionable value. similarly, there is still work to be done internationally. first, while the financial sector worldwide is considered to be ahead of most other sectors, it is generally thought that the united states still leads most other countries in the degree of preparedness, although some are as advanced as we are. for example, testing programs and, in some cases, further remediation efforts still need to be made in some countries, although these activities are obviously quite advanced in our major trading partners and the other major industrialized economies. second, all countries should hold themselves to the highest standard of self - disclosure, so that financial markets can make fully informed decisions. this need for disclosure includes industrial countries, as well as developing countries. similarly, financial market participants need to seek full information on international preparedness, and make reasonable, calm and considered – not hasty – trade - offs between risk and reward. now that it seems as though the developed world is generally well positioned in dealing with the year 2000 problem, the focus has shifted to the “ emerging market countries ”. this group is described by some to be at the greatest risk of failure due to technical difficulties. my concern is that “ emerging market countries ” is too