Federal Reserve Governor Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. to chair Joint Year 2000 Council

Press release  | 
21 July 1998

The sponsoring organisations of the Joint Year 2000 Council announced today that Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. will succeed Ernest T. Patrikis as Chairman of the Council with immediate effect. Governor Ferguson is a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The Joint Year 2000 Council, formed in April 1998, comprises senior representatives of its four sponsoring organisations: the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Governor Ferguson took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in November 1997. Since that time, he has been closely involved in the Federal Reserve's preparations to meet the Year 2000 computer challenge, taking a particular interest in Federal Reserve contingency preparations.

In announcing his appointment, the chairmen of the four sponsoring organisations said that they believe Governor Ferguson has the right mix of skills and energy to continue the good work of the Joint Year 2000 Council in assisting international financial sector preparations for Year 2000 readiness. According to William J. McDonough, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Chairman of the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision, "Roger Ferguson has an enormous capacity to understand the many different aspects of this issue and how the public and private sectors can best work together to tackle them in the short time that remains."

"I am pleased to have been selected to chair the Joint Year 2000 Council. Preparing for the Year 2000 is of vital interest globally", said Governor Ferguson. "I am eager to work with the Council to help provide guidance to and assistance for supervisors and financial market participants in all countries regarding the steps they need to take to meet the challenge."

Governor Ferguson was born on 28th October 1951 in Washington, D.C. He received a B.A. in economics (magna cum laude) in 1973, a J.D. (cum laude) in 1979 and a Ph.D. in economics in l98l, all from Harvard University. From 1973 to 1974 Governor Ferguson was Frank Knox Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge University.

Before becoming a member of the Federal Reserve Board, Governor Ferguson was a partner at international management consultants McKinsey & Company, Inc. Based in New York City, he managed a variety of studies for financial institutions from 1984 to 1997. Governor Ferguson also served as Director of Research and Information Systems, overseeing a staff of 400 research professionals and managing the firm's investments in knowledge management technologies.

From l981 to 1984 Governor Ferguson was an attorney at the New York City office of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he worked with commercial banks, investment banks and Fortune 500 corporations on syndicated loans, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and new product development.

Notes for Editors

The purpose of the Joint Year 2000 Council is to ensure a high level of attention to the Year 2000 computer problem on the part of the global financial supervisory community, to share information on regulatory and supervisory strategies and approaches, to discuss possible contingency measures and to serve as a point of contact with national and international private sector initiatives.

The Secretariat for the Joint Year 2000 Council is provided by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Information on the Council's activities is available on the BIS Web site (http://www.bis.org).

Mr. Patrikis, the initial Chairman of the Council, has resigned his post as First Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to take up a position in the private sector.