For banking, call last year and this the years of the Y2K. For if
anything dominated the thoughts of bankers – prompted by the FDIC and
other regulatory agencies – it was their institution’s preparation to
deal with any problems related to computer glitches come the year 2000.
Banks are spending in the multitude of millions of dollars to change
systems that might otherwise crash or go awry when the new millennium
arrives.
BankBoston estimates it will spend $75 million to repair the problem,
and Fleet Financial, according to its filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, anticipates spending some $150 million. Other banks
were spending similar amounts, depending upon their size.
As 1998 progressed, talk of Y2K became more and more pronounced. Banks
in particular were under rigid timetables from the FDIC to become Y2K
compliant. As 1998 came to a close, most area banks were confident that
they would be Y2K compliant well before the end of 1999, although many
acknowledged that there might be some minor glitches.
Meanwhile, 1998, locally, saw none of the merger mania among banks that
occurred a few years ago, although Fleet Financial continued to add to
its credit card and investment divisions, including the relocation of
its Suretrade Internet brokerage from New York City to Lincoln.
Instead, many of those innovations that banks had been implementing over
the last few years – such as supermarket banking – have become
commonplace.
Some banks were expanding to weekend hours, beyond the supermarket
branches, and computer banking was becoming more popular, while those in
the banking industry still saw Internet Banking as there, but not
significant.
Maybe most noteworthy locally was the Hospital Trust name, a tradition
in Rhode Island since 1867, was finally retired. Hospital Trust, which
13 years was acquired by BankBoston, finally adopted its name and became
fully integrated with its systems, at a cost of some $15 million.
“All the systems are now into one system,” said Dennis Moore, director
of corporate relations for BankBoston in Rhode Island. Additionally,
Moore said the Rhode Island bank has become BankBoston’s southern
regional headquarters.
BankBoston is also the region’s largest global bank and, as a result,
suffered some because of the Asian financial crisis, and similar
problems in Brazil and Argentina. The bank did some consolidating in
those areas, while its stock suffered for a short time, rebounding by
year’s end.
Regionally, legislatures were struggling with the issue of ATM
surcharges. In Rhode Island, bankers said surcharges are permitted, in
Massachusetts legislators were struggling with the issue, and in
Connecticut the legislature approved a bill prohibiting surcharges.
