They argued public assurances about banks' preparedness could be interpreted as a guarantee, which could become the basis for lawsuits if anything goes wrong. In the end, however, the industry decided to fix its computers and aggressively tell its story to customers. At the same time, bankers and the federal government were laying elaborate plans to try to gauge, then to meet, any huge demand for cash. By guess and by golly Some smaller banks upped their normal December cash needs by an arbitrary percentage. Bigger banks polled customers or organized focus groups, while acknowledging that asking questions could topple customer confidence.
Banks are skittish about revealing details of their cash-planning procedures.
Wachovia Bank declined to discuss it for this story, but did talk about its extensive polling and focus groups in the October issue of The ABA Banking Journal . While banks were querying customers, the Fed was querying banks. The Fed also analyzed historical spikes in cash demand for special events, such as major snowstorms and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Atlanta. To fill the order, printing plants in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth worked six days a week. The Fed also had to anticipate where additional cash might be needed.