Remarks by
Donna Tanoue
Chairman
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Before the Annual Convention of the
Independent Bankers Association of America
San Francisco, CA
March 16, 1999
During the greatest banking crisis this country has ever faced, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt observed: "There is an element in . . . our financial system more important
than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people."
The FDIC symbol of confidence is what we have in common. When your customers
walk into your bank and see this guarantee, they know that the FDIC stands behind
your insured deposits. This symbol of confidence sets you apart from your competition,
and it grants the smallest bank in the country the same standing as it grants the largest.
Our guarantee means that we have a community of interest - what affects you will likely
affect the federal deposit insurance funds. We share the same overarching goal:
Maintaining the public's confidence in banking.
At the FDIC, we have long understood what makes community banks special. As FDIC
Chairman, I am proud to say that the FDIC has a long history of working with community
banks. Speaking for all of us at the FDIC, I want you to know that no one has a greater
appreciation for your work than we do. No one believes more than we that community
banks will continue to play a very dynamic role in the financial services industry. And no
one knows better than we how essential you are to maintaining public confidence.
Today I ask you to continue to work with the FDIC to maintain public confidence. We
have a job to do, and we must do it together. That job is reassuring the public that their
money will be safe in the Year 2000.
As a nation we have always worked together to meet important challenges. Year 2000
is just one more challenge we must work to meet together.
This morning I want to talk with you about what you are doing to reassure the public. I
want to talk with you about what we at the FDIC are doing. And I want to talk with you
about what else we can do.
Why the urgency?
Just last week, USA Today reported that a Gallup Poll found that 55 percent of adult
Americans say that banking systems will fail come January 1. That finding is similar to
Donna Tanoue
Chairman
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Before the Annual Convention of the
Independent Bankers Association of America
San Francisco, CA
March 16, 1999
During the greatest banking crisis this country has ever faced, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt observed: "There is an element in . . . our financial system more important
than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people."
The FDIC symbol of confidence is what we have in common. When your customers
walk into your bank and see this guarantee, they know that the FDIC stands behind
your insured deposits. This symbol of confidence sets you apart from your competition,
and it grants the smallest bank in the country the same standing as it grants the largest.
Our guarantee means that we have a community of interest - what affects you will likely
affect the federal deposit insurance funds. We share the same overarching goal:
Maintaining the public's confidence in banking.
At the FDIC, we have long understood what makes community banks special. As FDIC
Chairman, I am proud to say that the FDIC has a long history of working with community
banks. Speaking for all of us at the FDIC, I want you to know that no one has a greater
appreciation for your work than we do. No one believes more than we that community
banks will continue to play a very dynamic role in the financial services industry. And no
one knows better than we how essential you are to maintaining public confidence.
Today I ask you to continue to work with the FDIC to maintain public confidence. We
have a job to do, and we must do it together. That job is reassuring the public that their
money will be safe in the Year 2000.
As a nation we have always worked together to meet important challenges. Year 2000
is just one more challenge we must work to meet together.
This morning I want to talk with you about what you are doing to reassure the public. I
want to talk with you about what we at the FDIC are doing. And I want to talk with you
about what else we can do.
Why the urgency?
Just last week, USA Today reported that a Gallup Poll found that 55 percent of adult
Americans say that banking systems will fail come January 1. That finding is similar to
one in a Gallup Poll three months ago. It hasn't gotten worse. But it hasn't gotten much
better, either.
Public understanding of the FDIC's guarantee and the banking industry's Y2K
preparations will help maintain public confidence.
Bankers have a good story to tell. But you've got to tell it - no one is going to tell it for
you. You have to tell it consistently, and you have to tell it again and again. Public
confidence will be strengthened by regular, consistent communications. With all the
information flooding the public every day, people must hear a message three times
before they understand it. And bank customers need to be assured of ready access to
cash and other funds and services, and that their bank records are secure.
What's the story?
It begins with the fact that the FDIC and other banking agencies have aggressively
supervised the Y2K preparations of banks and savings institutions, and we will continue
to. Thousands of examiners have been in every bank in the country at least once - and
by the end of March, it will be twice - to make sure that banks are making progress. The
banking agencies' latest figures show that the overwhelming majority of banks and
savings institutions are making satisfactory progress at this time toward becoming Y2K
ready. Any problem banks will receive strict supervisory attention.
In addition, many experts say that banks are the best prepared of any industry for the
date change.
And by the end of June - six months ahead of the event -- we will have a good idea of
how ready every bank and savings institution is for January 1 - and beyond.
No one can say there won't be glitches, but we are confident that the overwhelming
majority of banks are carefully and thoroughly preparing themselves for January 1.
To reassure the public, to reassure your customers, all the facts and numbers need a
human face - and a human voice. Your face. Your voice.
Don't wait for misleading or false information to surface. Take your message to the
community now.
Your friends and neighbors - your customers -- trust you., and because they do, you
should tell them: What the Y2K issue is, what it means to your bank, and what your
bank is doing about it. The progress your bank has made and when you expect to
complete your preparations. And your bank's plans on how you will serve customers if
there is an unanticipated disruption from Y2K problems. In short, you should make clear
what you are doing to ensure that the people in your community have access to their
money, and you should make clear what you are doing to ensure that customers
continue to receive accurate information on their accounts.
better, either.
Public understanding of the FDIC's guarantee and the banking industry's Y2K
preparations will help maintain public confidence.
Bankers have a good story to tell. But you've got to tell it - no one is going to tell it for
you. You have to tell it consistently, and you have to tell it again and again. Public
confidence will be strengthened by regular, consistent communications. With all the
information flooding the public every day, people must hear a message three times
before they understand it. And bank customers need to be assured of ready access to
cash and other funds and services, and that their bank records are secure.
What's the story?
It begins with the fact that the FDIC and other banking agencies have aggressively
supervised the Y2K preparations of banks and savings institutions, and we will continue
to. Thousands of examiners have been in every bank in the country at least once - and
by the end of March, it will be twice - to make sure that banks are making progress. The
banking agencies' latest figures show that the overwhelming majority of banks and
savings institutions are making satisfactory progress at this time toward becoming Y2K
ready. Any problem banks will receive strict supervisory attention.
In addition, many experts say that banks are the best prepared of any industry for the
date change.
And by the end of June - six months ahead of the event -- we will have a good idea of
how ready every bank and savings institution is for January 1 - and beyond.
No one can say there won't be glitches, but we are confident that the overwhelming
majority of banks are carefully and thoroughly preparing themselves for January 1.
To reassure the public, to reassure your customers, all the facts and numbers need a
human face - and a human voice. Your face. Your voice.
Don't wait for misleading or false information to surface. Take your message to the
community now.
Your friends and neighbors - your customers -- trust you., and because they do, you
should tell them: What the Y2K issue is, what it means to your bank, and what your
bank is doing about it. The progress your bank has made and when you expect to
complete your preparations. And your bank's plans on how you will serve customers if
there is an unanticipated disruption from Y2K problems. In short, you should make clear
what you are doing to ensure that the people in your community have access to their
money, and you should make clear what you are doing to ensure that customers
continue to receive accurate information on their accounts.