United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-03-11 monographic deposited born digital 12 p. GA 1.13:T-GGD-99-56 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56 P0b002ee1803761ff f:gg99056t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56 T-GGD-99-56 Y2K Securities regulation Insurance regulation Banking regulation Regulatory agencies Computer software verification and validation Systems conversions Strategic information systems planning Insurance companies Y2K Other Written Product GGD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the banking, securities, and insurance regulators' efforts to validate their year 2000 preparedness.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) banking and securities regulators have supplied guidance and direction regarding year 2000 problems, while state insurance regulators GAO contacted have provided little guidance to their regulated institutions; (2) within the banking industry, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), through its member agencies, has taken actions to: (a) raise banking industry awareness regarding the year 2000 problem; and (b) provide financial depository institutions with year 2000 guidance; (3) within the securities industry, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has engaged in similar efforts to promote and encourage year 2000 readiness, primarily through the securities industry's self-regulatory organizations (SRO); (4) but state insurance regulators GAO contacted and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have not been as proactive in this area; (5) FFIEC has issued interagency guidance to federally regulated depository institutions on year 2000 topics such as testing, contingency planning, and business risk; (6) although SEC has issued limited guidance on year 2000 problems, the Securities Industry Association and other SROs have issued guidance to their members; (7) with a few exceptions, state insurance regulators GAO contacted have not provided insurance companies with formal guidance or regulatory expectations regarding year 2000 readiness; (8) financial regulators have two principal ways of verifying the year 2000 readiness of their regulated institutions: (a) on-site examinations; and (b) broad scale testing; (9) banking regulators rely primarily on examinations targeted directly at issues related to year 2000 problems to validate the progress and status of their regulated institutions; (10) this will provide regulators with not only a snapshot of institutions' status now, but a perspective of their progress over time; (11) the interconnectedness of the securities industry lends itself to broad scale testing to an even greater extent; (12) with the approval of SEC, over 400 institutions are participating in street-wide testing; (13) street-wide testing is the principal year 2000 validation vehicle in the securities industry; and (14) validation by insurance regulators of the year 2000 readiness of insurance companies began late, and, in most states, lacks the vigor demonstrated by bank and securities regulators. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56/html/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56.pdf GAO/T-GGD-99-56 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-99-56 Other Written Product GAO/T-GGD-99-56; Insurance Industry: Regulators Are Less Active in Encouraging and Validating Year 2000 Preparedness; Y2K Securities regulation Insurance regulation Banking regulation Regulatory agencies Computer software verification and validation Systems conversions Strategic information systems planning Insurance companies Y2K