Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB) is still not on-line -- and cannot give a date when it will be.

The bank announced in December that the e-banking site would be up and running on January 1, 2000 but by mid-January said it had delayed the implementation to deal with "security issues and integrity both for customers and the bank''.

Downplaying the problem, BCB's manager of information technology, Garry Barret, said in January: "There is always an element of the unknown that could cause a delay but the problem wasn't unusual.'' While the problem still has not been revealed, yesterday BCB acting managing director, Barry Munholland, said a new software package had to be approved.

Uncertainty over BCB e-banking plan "Right now we are just finalising the software package,'' he said. "Then beta testing should start in the next few weeks.'' Refusing to name a new start-up date, Mr. Munholland explained that he could not be sure when the product would be ready. "We had a meeting yesterday and it was decided that it is just too difficult to give a date,'' he said.

"It could be the date I give you is too soon or too late and either way I would be doing a disservice to the Bank,'' he continued. While the announcement of a delay in mid-January gave the new start-up date as this spring, Mr. Munholland said he was very hopeful the project would be ready before the end of the summer.

"We're hoping as soon as possible,'' he said. "I'm very hopeful it would be before the end of the summer.'' The on-line Bermuda Commercial Bank services are set to include account transfers, balances and investment information.

Customers have been told that they will be able to view their account balances and transactions in any currency through a special currency converter and that on-line trading will be available. The e-banking is to operate as a joint venture between Bermuda Commercial Bank and its major shareholder First Curacao International Bank.