powerful voice in urging the public to seek legitimate information, maintain perspective, and act with common sense. suggest calm attentiveness to preparations. provide ‘ how to ’ pointers and advice. focus on contingency planning. suggest and highlight sensible actions by small businesses. encourage community leadership. promote education about the problem. hold opinion leaders and public services providers accountable for accurate, consistent flows of information. accept that certain things are unknowable and do not agonize over that – we deal with uncertainties every day without loss of confidence. if glitches occur or problems loom, report fully on them of course, but make sure to place the problem in an appropriate context. balance and perspective are key. y2k gives reporters an extraordinary opportunity to do what they do best – learn the facts, weigh the evidence, and inform the public. you have a nation of attentive readers and listeners who very much trust your expertise, and who will prepare for the rollover with your perspective in mind. complete and reliable information is every bit as important to our country ’ s success in preparing for y2k as is all of the technical work being done.

mr kelly ’ s observations on y2k compliance and the banking system speech by edward w kelley, jr, a member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, to the media studies center, new york, new york on 10 march 1999 good morning. my thanks to the media studies center and the freedom forum for inviting the federal reserve to participate in this meeting and, more important, for the initiative of sponsoring this gathering to discuss what i believe to be a critically important topic. as you may know, i have devoted a good deal of time to y2k preparation over the last two years, and in that process i have talked to a wide spectrum of people. i have reached the conclusion that, now that the country is at last aggressively addressing the problem, the most important single element in our successfully navigating through the challenges presented by the ‘ millennium bug ’ is how the public responds to it. there are very few places in our national life where the statement that ‘ attitude can affect outcomes ’ is so compellingly demonstrated as in the banking sector, particularly as we work to address y2k. you will no doubt agree that the best way to engender a strong and positive public attitude is through open and candid discussion, which i would like to encourage by briefly addressing three key questions. first, what are the critical components of public confidence in the banking system, and how are the industry, its regulators, and the central bank working to earn public trust in the y2k context? second, what are we confident about and what are we concerned about? when the media assesses the financial risk element of the y2k story, these may be appropriate places to start. and finally, what do we hope the media will do in the coming months? i believe there are four important elements needed for public confidence in banks and the banking system, and each is being addressed as we prepare for potential y2k problems. bank customers need to be assured • of ready access to cash and other funds and bank services • that their bank records are secure • that competent and energetic government supervision is being conducted • that deposit insurance is in place and inviolate i want to elaborate on these elements because i believe that public understanding of the banking industry ’ s y2k preparations will help maintain public confidence. first, cash availability. we do not see any need for a vast surge in demand for cash late this year, but if that should occur, it is the federal