ATLANTA, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- As some companies and individuals citywide
expressed Y2K fears, the Citizens Trust Bank (CTB) team and customers welcomed
the New Year with open arms. With customer deposits protected, ATMs secured
and electronic payments presenting no problem at CTB.
"All along, we dismissed concerns that the Y2K transition would make our
systems malfunction," explained James Young, president and chief executive
officer. "That's why after we successfully passed all tests and successfully
passed regulatory milestones, we worked hard to appease our 23,000 customers
with literature, ads and radio commercials. We also took preventative
measures to keep them from becoming victims of Y2K scams."
New Year's weekend came and went, just as any other holiday. According to
federal and state regulatory agencies, they were satisfied that all
10,200 banks and thrifts in the United States had upgraded their computer
systems to prepare for the Y2K. But Citizens Trust was the only bank in
Atlanta that was bold enough to focus so much of its advertising on reducing
Y2K fears.
The advent of Y2K had sparked concerns that computer systems would break
down by confusing the last two digits of the year 2000 with the year 1900.
Regulators feared the publicized event would cause consumers to withdraw large
amounts of cash in the days leading up to New Years. But it did not happen.
"The crisis was a non-event for us," said Willard "Chuck" Lewis, senior
executive vice president and chief operating officer. "With all the testing
and re-testing we've been doing for the past two years to implement our Year
2000-ready systems, everything ran smoothly during this transition. We're
very pleased, and so are our customers."
Citizens Trust Bank has been a partner in the community since 1921. With
over $210 million in assets, Citizens Trust is the largest African-American
owned bank in the Southeast. Through its parent company, Citizens Bancshares
Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CZBS), CTB now offers its common stock on the
OTC Bulletin Board under the trading symbol CZBS. The bank's web site is
http://www.CTBAtlanta.com .
SOURCE Citizens Trust Bank
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Related links:
http://www.CTBAtlanta.com
CONTACT:
Alexis Brinkley of Citizens Trust Bank,
404-653-2710
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