Washington Mutual Has Failed

[DavidS]

WaMu is largest U.S. bank failure;JPMorgan buys assets: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Reuters
WaMu is largest U.S. bank failure;JPMorgan buys assets
Thursday September 25, 10:06 pm ET

By Elinor Comlay and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc (NYSE:WM - News) was closed by the U.S. government in by far the largest failure of a U.S. bank, and its banking assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM - News) for $1.9 billion.

The rescue marks a historic step to clean up a U.S. financial system littered with toxic mortgage debt.

Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, was closed by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was named receiver. Customers should expect business as usual on Friday, the FDIC said.

 

[busara]

failing? hardly. theyre just realigning their assets. their fundamentals are strong.



i joke because this is depressing.

 

[Mad Scientist]

WaMu gives loans to illegal aliens don't they? Why yes they do:
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/08/local/me-housing8

Referred to a local loan broker by a trusted friend, he borrowed the entire purchase price of $615,000 from Washington Mutual at a high interest rate typical of sub-prime loans. The monthly payment, as he says he understood it, would be $3,600 – steep for a glass cutter who made $9 an hour – but Aviles counted on his wife and three of his six daughters, who also worked low-paying jobs, to contribute.

So we're supposed to bail out banks that give loans to people who are here illegally and make only $9 an hour huh?
I don't think so.

 

[AVG-JOE]

You know... The only reason we are seeing the 'largest bank failures' in history is the merger madness of the '80's when we traded in lots and lots of local banks for a couple of national brands. The same manipulation of government that brought you 3 oil companies and our current energy 'policy'...

What's going to happen if JP Morgan fails? Shouldn't we be figuring ways to spread the risk around instead of trying to bundle it even tighter?

How is less competition in the financial market* going to affect our economy?

* Side note... 'financial market' is a funny term... it makes it sound like they make and sell stuff. Should we really be buying and selling capital resources to the highest bidder? Same thing with 'insurance'... imagine trying to explain that concept to Moses and the Pharaoh. (The real ones, not Charleton Heston and Yuel Brenner)

-Joe

 

[CA95380]

I wonder how much money Bush had in Wamu? Zilch! Nada! Nuttin!

 

[editec]

And did JP MORGAN get to buy the going concern assets while the AMERICAN PEOPLE are stuck with the WAMU's bad paper?

The TERMS OF THE DEAL are not exactly very clear, I think, or are they there, and I'm just not seeing them?

 

[Ravi]

Does this mean I don't have to pay my mortgage?

 

[Care4all]

all of our banks going in to the hands of maybe 3 or 4 big financial institution is only going to come back and bite us....they will control every living move of every citizen on this earth...starting with americans.... the lack of competition will make money much much much more expensive for all of us due to the lack of competitivness....

This is the worst decision our federal gvt has ever made.....

And will someone please tell me how fannie freddie with ONLY A TOTAL OF $380 BILLION in subprime loans of which 3/4's or more are not in default or foreclosure, they are responsible for this whole mess?

What is the $700 billion for and why are banks and small businesses and farmers all lining up with their hands out as far as the eye can see....? all but the actual homeowners that need conventional mortgages?

I still do not understand how the whole world will go in to a depression if the banks do not get $700 billion from us? bells are going off like mad in my head that this smells wrong...what are we not being told?

 

[KittenKoder]

I saw WaMu going downhill a looooong time ago. But oh well. As long as BofA stays strong I'll be happy.

 

[AVG-JOE]

Does this mean I don't have to pay my mortgage?

Only if you don't want the house...

http://www.usmessageboard.com/economy/59031-question-about-the-bailout-2.html#post799926

-Joe

 

[AVG-JOE]

I saw WaMu going downhill a looooong time ago. But oh well. As long as BofA stays strong I'll be happy.

I have a couple of deposit accounts at WAMU... Don't really care at this point in time. It really doesn't matter which bank keeps the spreadsheet with your name on it in their computer. We are all as solvent as Federal Reserve System and the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation. At least those of us who still can't even imagine $100,000 in liquid cash assets.

Scary and comforting at the same time... Sucks, doesn't it?

-Joe

 

[AVG-JOE]

all of our banks going in to the hands of maybe 3 or 4 big financial institution is only going to come back and bite us....they will control every living move of every citizen on this earth...starting with americans.... the lack of competition will make money much much much more expensive for all of us due to the lack of competitivness....

This is the worst decision our federal gvt has ever made.....

And will someone please tell me how fannie freddie with ONLY A TOTAL OF $380 BILLION in subprime loans of which 3/4's or more are not in default or foreclosure, they are responsible for this whole mess?

What is the $700 billion for and why are banks and small businesses and farmers all lining up with their hands out as far as the eye can see....? all but the actual homeowners that need conventional mortgages?

I still do not understand how the whole world will go in to a depression if the banks do not get $700 billion from us? bells are going off like mad in my head that this smells wrong...what are we not being told?

You are perceptive beyond your beauty, Care. This is nothing more than a consolidation in the banking industry.

The last time we saw this kind of consolidation of industry assets was the 80's & 90's when we went from several to 3 oil companies... That worked out well for consumers and kept corporate profits in check, eh?

-Joe

 

[WAMUShareholder]

Updated version sent to new web address on 11/06/2008


President Barak Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20510

Dear President Obama:

After listening to your speeches during the election campaign and more importantly, your election night speech – we feel that you, out of all our elected officials, will understand our request and give it the fairness and insight it deserves. We, the Shareholders of Washington Mutual, are writing to request that you and your cabinet champion our cause and right a wrong.

Mr. President, an injustice has been done. This injustice was not based on the racial or religious or political views that have separated this nation for far too long; having taken us some 106 years to overcome. This injustice has the frightening underpinnings and spiritless tenants of all that is wrong with this great nation and this wonderful world; fear and greed.

Mr. President, I quote from your speech: “Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.”

We do not wish to take too much of your time, but to simply state the injustice we speak of is the seizure and subsequent “firesale” of Washington Mutual that seemingly allowed the whole weight of wall street’s troubles to fall on the very few, and apparently unimportant, shoulders of the Washington Mutual shareholders. This action by the FDIC, while meant to save taxpayer dollars, ultimately ruined the personal dreams of some 60,000 shareholders. Instead of spreading the financial crisis to all who deserved it, Washington Mutual took the full brunt and we are the only institution on record to have its shareholders voice and value effectively ignored and wiped out over a single evening.

The extent of this injustice is more than just the immediate erosion of wealth; it was the loss of college savings funds, retirement nest eggs, employee 401Ks and local education funds and maybe most important of all, a loss of trust in our financial system.

We request that your Administration join the growing grassroots campaign for FDIC oversight and investigation into Washington Mutual’s seizure and subsequent “firesale”.

Please write back and tell us what actions your Administration will take.

Sincerely,
Washington Mutual Shareholders /s/.WAMUED.ORG

cc FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair [[email protected]]
Director of Office of Thrift Supervision John M. Reich [[email protected]]
Senator Maria Cantwell cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm Maria Cantwell's Website
P-I Reporter Bill Virgin [[email protected]]



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