# 1070
To date roughly 1200 organizations nationwide have signed up to participate in this multi-week exercise. That sounds pretty good, until you realize there are roughly 9,000 banks in the United States with nearly 80,000 branches or locations.
Still, there is nearly a month to go before this exercise kicks off. Hopefully more financial organizations will sign up.
U.S. Treasury Department Sponsors Exercise to Test Readiness to Deal with Pandemic Crisis
August 17, 2007
Circular No. 11891
The Federal Reserve along with the other Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) agencies has invited financial institutions to participate in the U.S. Treasury Department-sponsored industry-wide business continuity exercise for members of the financial services sector.
The purpose of the exercise is to test the financial sector’s ability to respond to a pandemic-like crisis, such as an influenza pandemic. The exercise targets all financial services organizations across the United States. Financial institutions may want to consider this exercise as an opportunity to test their pandemic contingency programs and to identify opportunities for improvement.
The exercise is scheduled to begin September 24, 2007, and conclude on October 10, 2007. The exercise is voluntary and there is no fee to participate. Detailed information about the exercise and registration is available at the pandemic flu exercise website.
