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By WILLIAM PETROSKI Register Staff Writer 11/15/1999

Older Iowans are being urged to resist the temptation to withdraw large sums of money from Iowa banks because of Y2K worries.

Senior citizens are more likely to be concerned because they saw people lose their savings when banks closed in the 1920s and 1930s, Iowa bank officials said. Some older people still distrust banks, as well as modern technology.

Bank officials around the nation have reported cases of older people emptying bank accounts because of fears of computer failures on Jan. 1. Older software that hasn't been fixed could read 2000 as 1900 and malfunction.

Both the Iowa Bankers Association and the Des Moines Police Department are advising Iowa seniors to keep their money in the bank. Authorities fear that making large withdrawals could lead to home robberies and other violence.

"We are telling people the safest place for their money is the bank," Des Moines senior police Officer Tracy Rhoads said.

Ben Hildebrandt, a bankers association spokesman, said seniors should remember that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insures deposits now, unlike when Iowans lost money from bank closings during the Great Depression.

"Since it has been around, no one in America has lost a cent," Hildebrandt said. Iowa banks are confident that their computers will work properly on Jan. 1, he said.

At least a couple of incidents in Iowa have raised concerns among banking officials about possible Y2K panic among seniors.

Hildebrandt said he saw an older man make a big withdrawal of cash from a Des Moines bank and then head across the hall and put the money into a safe-deposit box.

In another case, an older Iowa couple considered withdrawing a large amount of cash from their bank. Their adult children learned of the plans and persuaded them to drop the idea, Hildebrandt said.

Similar issues are cropping up throughout the United States.

In Valleo, Calif., a woman withdrew $12,000 in cash, stopped at a department store and got mugged, police told USA Today.

In Sun City, Fla., bank tellers were put on alert after seniors began making large withdrawals.

Mark Long, president of Norwest Bank in Cedar Rapids, said he has discussed the issue with his tellers. If any customer wants to withdraw more than $5,000, tellers are told to involve another bank employee, he said.

At Citizens State Bank in Mount Ayr, which has many older customers, bank workers have fielded lots of Y2K-related questions, but customers have yet to make any withdrawals that seem fear-driven, bank president Kim Greenland said. He said his bank, like most other Iowa banks, plans to have extra cash on hand in late December as a precaution.

The federal government is printing an additional $50 billion in currency to make sure banks have plenty of cash.

"We really don't feel it will be needed, though," said Rose Pianalto, a spokeswoman for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. "ATMs will be working, and you can still use your checks and credit cards. All payment systems will function."

Y2K money tips

* EDUCATE YOURSELF: Find out what your financial institution is doing about Y2K.

* KEEP COPIES OF FINANCIAL RECORDS: Maintain records of transactions until and into the new year.

* PAY ATTENTION: Balance your checkbook, and check the accuracy of transactions.

* PRUDENTLY PREPARE: Remember all payment options (checks, credit cards, debit cards, ATMs and tellers) in the event one doesn't work. If you withdraw money, make decisions based on solid information. Don't put yourself at risk of robbery or losing interest payments.

* GUARD AGAINST SCAMS: Be skeptical if someone asks for account information or tries to sell a "Y2K-safe" product, service or investment. Protect personal financial information.

* REVIEW DEPOSIT INSURANCE COVERAGE: The federal government's protection of insured deposits will not be affected by Y2K. Money deposited in Iowa banks is federally insured.

SOURCE: Iowa Banking Association

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), November 15, 1999

Answers

I heard there was this one old lady up in Anytown who withdrew her life savings and her grandchildrens' college funds, and was attacked and eaten outside the bank by a pack of rogue dingos. The police would have helped, but there's an obscure Federal law that says people who withdraw their money from banks revoke their citizenship and become honorary Communists, so really, she got what she deserved.

(hint hint: IRONY. Apologies to anyone who has had a relative eaten by dingos)

-- Colin MacDonald (roborogerborg@yahoo.com), November 15, 1999.

If the mass media were not SHOUTING at the top of their collective lungs that Srs. are possibly withdrawing more than normal, I doubt this situation would exist. They are being set-up for theft/fraud/, IMHO. These reports of said theft & fraud, are probably scaring the hell out of many of the elderly. Vicious Circles.

-- tip-don'tshopw/12kinpocket!! (karlacalif@aol.com), November 15, 1999.

The dingo ate your baby????

-- elaine (what@bummer.pal), November 15, 1999.

For every occasion in which someone is robbed of his Y2K cash upon leaving the bank, there are probably hundreds or even thousands of occasions in which people made it home witht their cash quite safely. For the next few months, your money is far safer in cash at home than in computer digits in a bank.

-- cody (cody@y2ksurvive.com), November 15, 1999.

Oh geez, Colin! I finally laughed out loud!

"'Since it [the FDIC] has been around, no one in America has lost a cent,' Hildebrandt said. Iowa banks are confident that their computers will work properly on Jan. 1, he said."

I know nobody cares about a litle old bank in WV called Keystone, but it went down in the summer [1999] and one guy had more than $100,000. Guess what? He lost many cents! But that's a technicality and nobody likes technicalities anymore.

"We really don't feel it will be needed, though," said Rose Pianalto, a spokeswoman for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. "ATMs will be working, and you can still use your checks and credit cards. All payment systems will function."

There you have it, those who want to know who to blame! Rose Pianlto in Dee Cee! "All payment systems will function." Would somebody teach her to make exceptions for GLITCHES before she gets herself in trouble?

-- Becky (rmbolte@wvadventures.net), November 15, 1999.

Something that has my curiousity aroused is, in those instances where it has been necessary for the FDIC to reimburse a bank's creditors (i.e your savings and checking accounts), what is the average length of time a person was separated from their money?

A day? A week? A month? longer? Does anybody know?

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), November 15, 1999.

Longer

-- think (fed-savings@loan.situation), November 15, 1999.

Hi,

Can't seem to stay away for long. Fare well and hello again.

My bank, B of A, had a paragraph at the bottom of the receipt when I asked for a balance of our market savings account. It said that deposits over $1,000 were not FDIC insured. I would not have known that if I had not asked for a balance amount. Lucky or not, my balance is well below $1000. No problem. Others may want to ask for a balance receipt on their account and see if the same notice is posted.

Blessings and peace to all.

-- Leslie (***@***.net), November 15, 1999.