U.S. banking regulators have issued an advisory on financial industry preparedness for an influenza pandemic.

The advisory — jointly issued by the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision — is intended to raise awareness regarding the threats of a pandemic influenza outbreak, 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 advisory discusses aspects of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, which 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, it notes.

“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,” it says.