The losses included several write-downs, including $294 million of net
charge-offs from the alleged fraud by Wall Street veteran Bernard Madoff and a $5.6 billion credit reserve build, which includes $3.9 billion to conform reserve practices of both Wells Fargo and Wachovia Corp.
According to the press release, the bank is "comfortable" and does not need a second bailout like Bank of America Corp. to absorb Wachovia, which it bought on Dec. 31. Analysts have said that Wells Fargo might need to tap Uncle Sam or raise capital and cut its dividend to complete the integration of Wachovia. Wachoivia lost $11.17 billion in the fourth quarter, according to the report.
CEO John Stumpf said the bank has worked to reduce expenses in the current economy. "We consolidated our
consumer store network, eliminating 15%, or 158, of our stores in the U.S. and Canada.
Across all of our businesses, we eliminated 3,600 positions, leaving us with 17,400 team members
at year end, a 17% reduction from year-end 2007," he said. - Maria Woehr
Wells Fargo & Co. 
