GeorgiaFIRST is a regional coalition of financial institutions focused on developing a public-private partnership which will assist with contingency plans, emergency management plans, pandemic preparedness plans, and improvements in business continuity in the event of a natural disaster or manmade attack. By fostering relationships and points of contact with public, private and governmental partners locally, state-wide, and nationally, GeorgiaFIRST will promote the critical continuity of financial services to the communities they serve.
This effort has received support from the Georgia Department of Finance and Banking, and is recommended and supported at the national level by the United States Treasury Department, the FDIC and Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC). There are similar coalitions in
Lessons learned from 9-11, Katrina, and similar catastrophic events recognize that first responders are the local private citizens at ground zero of the crisis, closely followed by local emergency management personnel. This recognition, along with the increased complexity of our society and the nature of the threats against it, requires us to act together to mitigate the effects of these events that are sure to occur in the future.
For more information, send us a request on our Contact Us page, or call (770) 664-4207
The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) identifies Banking and Finance as one of the 18 Critical Infrastructure/Key resources. It also recommends forming regional coalitions as a mechanism for coordination between government and private sector entities that can be used to implement the NIPP risk management framework. It goes on to list multiple areas in which each side can assist one another, but the primary benefit is reducing assumptions in our emergency planning by sharing information between public and private sector partners that identifies before a crisis/disaster the needs, resources, and challenges of the financial services sector and the emergency responders.
In addition, the Banking and Finance Sector Specific Plan recommends regional partnerships as a best practice to enhance and maintain the resilience of financial institutions in the face of crisis/disaster.
