team at the Bank of Bermuda will have the first real indication if the dreaded Millennium bug is going to have any impact.

At that time, midnight will strike at the company's main Asia office in Hong Kong and staff will be able to find out if the Y2K bug has affected computers, telephone lines, electricity supplies, and the thousands of other companies and markets to which the bank is linked.

Mr. Shailer, the bank's senior vice-president, corporate administration, and a group of computer experts have spent three years preparing for this moment.

Four hours earlier, the bank's small staff in Auckland, New Zealand, among the first to experience the new Millennium, will begin testing their computers.

But by the time the New Year arrives in Hong Kong, a picture will begin to emerge about the possible impact of the Y2K bug.

Mr. Shailer is at pains to stress the Bank of Bermuda is Y2K compliant and can guarantee that every customer's money is safe. The big question is whether other businesses around the world are prepared enough to ensure their computers make the transition from 1999 to 2000 without any hitches.

"We're hoping it will be a non-event and will pass over quietly,'' Mr.

Shailer told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

"We can give an assurance that everyone's money is safe in the bank. There is no danger of money being lost or people's accounts being lost.

"We have paper records and computer back-up files so we can assure people access to their bank accounts and funds.

"We have recently finalised contingency plans for what if, despite all the preparations, things go wrong or things go wrong that are well outside our control. This stage is our preparation for event readiness condition.'' Since midnight on Tuesday, the bank's command centre in the Compass Building in Hamilton has been staffed around the clock.

It is from here that the bank will monitor its offices around the globe in Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Dublin, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, New York, New Zealand and Singapore.

Camp beds have been installed and frozen food kept in the kitchen to help the team of up to 15 who will operate the command centre.

Carole Gilbertson, the bank's vice president who is the Year 2000 Project director, said staff at every office will go through the same checklist and report back to Bermuda.

It begins with the basics: electricity, telephones, and electronic security passes. Contingency plans have been drawn up to carry on even if the basics fail.

The bank has a back-up generator. A failure in the telephone system would cause a major headache, but intensive testing has been done and the bank does not anticipate problems.

Faxes, photocopiers, printers, voice-mail, cell phones and computers will then be inspected. Finally, when the bank is assured all its computers are functional, it will turn to external information providers such as SWIFT -the main communications link between financial institutions -- Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Internet.

A global picture will emerge and be monitored about the state of readiness of major institutions and markets around the world.

Mrs. Gilbertson said: "There is a standard reporting structure so that every site is reporting at a specific time and we will give a global status report.'' Mr. Shailer added: "We are very much Y2K ready. It is from here at the command centre that we are sensitive to anything in the world, not just infrastructure difficulties such as lights, but we are also monitoring the markets to make sure foreign exchange markets, for example, don't do anything unusual.

"We are also monitoring the business world to see if it has any impact on the bank and its customers.'' Major institutions around the world will be posting compliance reports on the Internet and the bank will report any problems to the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and other regulators. It will also give an update to key corporate clients.

Mrs. Gilbertson warned that some problems may not emerge for days or even weeks, so vigilance will continue into the New Year.

Mr. Shailer added: "We're anticipating a quiet New Year, but we're well positioned to respond to any unforeseen developments that might impact the bank's business.'' At the ready: Carole Gilbertson (right), Year 2000 project director, and Barry Shailer get ready to track Y2K developments across the world at the Bank of Bermuda's global command centre in the Compass Building in Hamilton.