Quick! Take A Vacation!

Just reading about what's going on in our nation's capital is depressing to the compliance and operations officer these days.

First to be unleashed is the financial modernization law, and accompanying regulations that will change the questions we ask, the way we do business, the products we market, the image we maintain, and the rules all are governed by.

Then come the privacy rules and regulations. That will necessitate translation, training and the changing of systems, recordkeeping, access, audit and oversight.

In the meantime, more and more states are listening to consumer groups who are drawing attention to, and insisting changes be made to, our ATM fees.

There has been no lessening of the compliance front in the areas of BSA, or lending, or CRA, or real estate. Indeed, there has been an increase of changes in all of those areas.

And let's not forget the changes in technology that have been dumping in - web pages, and on-line transactions, and Internet presence - with all the safeguards and protections that have to be built into the systems.

Operations, security, compliance, audit - finally got to take a deep breath when Y2K fizzled. It was to be expected that things could get back to "normal", whatever that is. But instead, it appears the pace is quickening. All those changes and details that were waiting for the end of the year to be over are now galloping up on the horizon.

First to be accomplished will be the dissemination of information and then the writing of complete and comprehensive policies - both for the new products and procedures as well as for the new regulations. After that there are the training sessions to be put together and taken to all the employees.

This writer's guess? By mid-year all those hard working officers in operations, security, compliance, and audit are going to be swamped. It's not going to be an easy year for you.

It may be difficult for you to grab time away from the job mid-year when all these changes are coming at you in quick succession. It might be a good idea to leave town while you can, and gather some strength for the days ahead. Quick! Take a vacation!

Copyright © 2000 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2/00