U.K. finance industry on alert for simulated emergency to test readiness

JANE WARDELL, AP Business Writer
AP Worldstream
11-28-2005
Dateline: LONDON
Britain's finance industry was on high alert Monday for a mock catastrophe that will test its readiness to face a major incident such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.

Scores of banking companies, brokerages and investment firms were waiting across the country for details of the simulated emergency _ organized by the Bank of England, financial watchdog the Financial Services Authority and the government's Treasury department _ to hit their information systems.

The scenario for the exercise, which is being held 4 1/2 months after the July 7 suicide bomb attacks on London's transport network killed 56 people, is being kept a secret to make it as realistic as possible.

Last year's test, which was the first of what is now expected to be an annual event, simulated explosions in the City, the busy financial district in the center of London.

This year's exercise, which is being run with support from London's Metropolitan Police and other emergency services, will also involve firms in the Scottish capital Edinburgh and the northern city of Leeds.

Rob McIvor, a spokesman for the Financial Services Authority, said the exercise is aimed at preventing the shutdown of Britain's financial markets in the event of a large-scale incident.

"It's a virtual exercise so it's all desk bound," McIvor said. "It could be a natural disaster, or something that hits the infrastructure or transport system such as an airplane crash, or a terrorist attack, or an epidemic."

"Throughout the exercise, we will constantly be fed new information with updates from people producing fake wire service and broadcast reports to confuse us," McIvor added.

Participants will also use a secure Internet chatroom that was created for global finance institutions to exchange information following the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States.

The chatroom, which can only be accessed by the authorities and the business continuity teams in financial firms, was used following the July London bombings, McIvor said.

Those attacks shut down London's transport system and briefly closed the London Metals Exchange. However, the impact on the London Stock Exchange was limited with the benchmark FTSE 100 index quickly recovering ground after an initial drop.

Monday's simulation was scheduled to begin after 2 p.m. local time (1400 GMT). The Financial Services Authority said it would release some details of the exercise later Monday.

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