The Y2K glitch is likely to pose multifarious problems for the country's banking system, the severest being massive cash withdrawals by panicky clients.

This was observed by experts at a workshop on "Y2K Issues in the Financial System of Bangladesh" at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) in city yesterday.

Chairing a session of the workshop. Sohrab Uddin. Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, said that discussions on the Y2K problem at the national level were not Carried out as were expected. The central bank should have played the main role in this regard-

However, the Deputy Governor said if qjeperts feel, a high-level committee may be formed to address the Y2K issue to ensure safeguard of the banks.

Presenting his keynote paper on the issue. Dr Ananya Raihan, a faculty member of BIBM. said: "Every prudent person will decide to keep a few weeks' cash in hand in Decern ber 1999. The problem is that if every one in Bangladesh decides

to act this way. hanks will run out ofcash."

The role of Bangladesh Bank regarding the Y2K problem has remained limited to the formation of a committee. In most cases, bankers and vendors have Ignored the problem, he added.

He said that the first day of the year 2000 will turn into a doomsday if banks and Other financial bodies fail to ensure that their internal and external network (computer) environments are completely free from millennium bug.

Any computer operation that uses date-sensitive technology will be affected unless the programmes are matched to brave the Y2K glitch. Many applications whose functions do not appear to rely on dates may indeed have processors that are date-sensitive and non-Y2K compliant.

Raihan cautioned that date-sensitive computer chips are the integral parts of a wide range of devices and systems including medical pacemakers, heating systems, plumbing, electricity, transportation, air

traffic control towers and financial data transmission systems.

The year 2000 problem, if not corrected, could have adverse effects on the economic performances around the world. It may have cross-border effects with possible economic disturbances having an international dimension, he said, adding that inadequate preparations by utilities and telecommunication firms might mean that they would be unable to provide services.

He said: The economies like Bangladesh could be benefited a lot from the Y2K problem by exporting programmers for fixing it up. but our policy-makers failed to react properly and lost the opportunity to diversify further our export base and make our national economy safer."

Even when every possible stakeholders are sure about the Y2K compliance, a certain percentage of system may malfunc* tion after the century rolls over, Raihan said.

The year 2000 will be recognisedbycomputers as 00'. But '00' is not the next logical

number of '99'. The failure by computers to read '00' has become one of the world's largest nightmares."

At the century date-change, a large number of computer sys= terns, software programmes and chips, will commit errors or be subjected to malfunctioning unless the date or programme logic is modified.

Many calculations will either indicate that financial transactions have been open for nearly one hundred years or will produce negative numbers. New files may not be recognised as the most recent data, causing erasure °f current files or archiving them as old data.

Because of its scope and potential impact, the century date change is also a complex organisational issue facing the highest levels of senior management.

IT Analyst of British American Tobacco (BAT), M A Matin said it is not an IT issue, it is rather a threat to business continuity. Factories might shutdown if the problem is not properly addressed, he added.