Banks evacuated as losses rise

WELLS FARGO, N.A. — Along the spreadsheets of the corporate finance desk, red ink surpassed its highest level in history Friday morning, forcing the emergency evacuation of two bank branches before dawn and leading banking leaders here, once cheerfully upbeat, to sound far more dire.

“We do not want to give up yet,” CEO Tanis Walker of Wells Fargo said late Thursday night after receiving yet another piece of gruesome news. Forecasters now believe the red ink will go right on rising, and by Saturday overtake the record set here more than a century ago by $1.00 or even more, much higher than anyone here had earlier believed possible.

“We want to go down swinging — if we go down,” the CEO said, as he urged his underlings to summon the money to build the hedge funds that protect them from having to write off yet another summer house on Lake Como, Italy, by Friday night.

“I’m going to be devastated if we lose,” said Mr. Walker, who had, only a few days ago, expressed optimism, even certainty, that Wells Fargo, a bank with 90,000 employees, would be fine.

By Friday morning, some departments here had transferred employees to other facilities miles away, and HR had shuffled employees to affiliate banks in the hopes of staying on high ground. Major hallways were closed to foot traffic, to allow mail carts carrying more loads of printouts to reach executives as speedily as possible. And after about 100 people were forced to attempt to return a half-eaten birthday cake mistakenly charged to a corporate account for a refund Thursday afternoon, officials ordered a total stop to employee gatherings.

“This is definitely ground zero right now,” said Patrick Horvemonger, a trader for the financial derivatives desk. “Once you get here, into predictions above the levels we have ever seen before, you’re taking about unbroken ground. Even we don’t know for certain what’s going to happen.”

People here found themselves facing added challenges given the singular dimensions of this flood. Once the red ink crests, it is expected to stain the hallways for many days.

Despite the threat, “We plan to remain incautious, loosely observant and to get in at least 9 holes before drinks at 6 tonight,” said Kelvin Bean, an ombudsman.