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The AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (Oct. 20) reports on the lack of action -- and vulnerability -- of Australian banks. They are exposed to currency risks. They don't know how much risk.
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Some banks had not finalised a strategy for dealing with the millennium bug problem and some non-information technology staff were living in "blissful ignorance" of the issue and the need for compliance by the end of 1998.
Of the $600 million that Australian banks had earmarked for year 2000 compliance spending, only 10 per cent had been outlaid so far, highlighting how much work was still to be done. At the same time, he said: "Many banks seem not to have a good feel for the size of their [foreign exchange] settlement risk. But it is clear that the magnitudes are huge."
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