The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision are jointly issuing the attached advisory on Influenza Pandemic Preparedness.
The attached advisory is intended to raise awareness regarding the threats of a pandemic influenza outbreak and its potential impacts on the delivery of critical financial services and to provide references to information that may help financial institutions prepare for such an event. The attached advisory discusses aspects of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (National Strategy). The National Strategy states that the "private sector should play an integral role in preparedness before a pandemic begins, and should be part of the national response." Financial institutions provide essential financial services and, as such, should consider what actions, if any, are appropriate for preparing and responding to a pandemic.
The purpose of this supervisory letter is to alert financial institutions of the need to consider and address this potential pandemic (and similar threats) in their event response and contingency strategies. Reserve Banks are asked to distribute this letter to the appropriate management personnel at financial institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve. If you have questions about this letter or the attached advisory, please contact Stacy Coleman, Assistant Director, Operational and IT Risk Section, at (202) 452-2934 or John Gibbons, Supervisory Financial Analyst, at (202) 452-6409.