SOME BANKS OPEN JAN. 1 BUT NOT HERE

A number of the nation's banks will remain open on New Year's Day but not in Cape Girardeau.

A check with all banks in the city revealed that some workers will be at each bank, but they won't be open. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will keep check on all banks to make sure everything is working well, say local bank officials.

People in Missouri will have access to what's going on throughout the holiday period. The Missouri Bankers Association has a 24-hour hot line that runs through Jan. 2, said Mike Cook, president of the MBA. Senior MBA representatives can be reached by calling (573)-636-8151 to answer questions about banking and Y2K.

Some banks will remain open to allay customers' fears about Y2K problems. The dawning of 2000 has prompted fears that computers will think it is 1900 and malfunction, but bankers aren't worried that cash machines will malfunction, bank accounts will get lost or loan applications will disappear.

The banking industry is the most-checked Y2K industry there is, said one Cape Girardeau bank official. "If every other sector of the economy did what the banks did, there wouldn't be any Y2K problems," said the official

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has said banks will be the safest place for people to keep their cash at the end of the year. FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue said America's banks are ready for Y2K with contingency plans that will allow them to take deposits and dispense cash even if all the computers were to go down.

The FDIC, the government and the banking industry have been working on Y2K for a number of years to make sure that the more than 10,000 FDIC-insured financial institutions correct their computer systems by Jan. 1, 2000. FDIC regulators have visited every FDIC-insured financial institution to closely monitor progress in dealing with the problem.

"Specially trained examiners have already performed at least two "Year 2000" assessments at every financial institution in the nation," said FDIC Examination Specialist Michael Bernardo in Washington. "We expect that most banking services will be functioning normally on Saturday.

While many large banks won't be open, some smaller banks across the country will.

Earlier this year a nationwide survey of more than 60 financial-institution customers ranging in age from the early 20s to over 80 showed that almost two-thirds agreed there was no need for the banks to remain open.

The Federal Reserve Bank plans to make special loans to banks, savings-and-loans and credit unions that might need emergency money. The Fed also ordered an additional $50 billion in currency put into circulation in case people make a run on banks and ATMs late in the year.

Some national institutions such as Citibank and Chase Manhattan Bank, which will not be open Saturday, are taking a business-as-usual approach.

"On a Saturday or a Sunday people are not looking to walk into their local branch," said Chase Manhattan spokeswoman Lisa Selkin Lupo. "They want to get money out of their ATMs."

A survey by the Missouri Office of Information Technology in Jefferson City indicated that about 95 percent of all Missouri businesses have taken steps to insure their systems are or will be Y2K compliant.