Largest bank folding in history

[Phill12]

Washington Mutual the largest savings and loan just went under this afternoon.

From CNN reports this is largest banking in history to close.:annoyed:

Lucky for some that the money part was bought by JP Morgan Chase!

What will be next?

 

[Icarus]

I hadn't heard this yet, but I'm not surprised. WaMu has been in trouble for a while. A bunch of different banks were eyeing their banking operation because of their branch network.

-David

 

[Fern Modena]

Here's a question I hope somebody can answer. My sister has a WaMu Checking account. Its one of those which is free with direct deposit. Chase has the same thing, so I don't think its a problem...except...will she need to get new checks, or will the Fed just reassign and point the bank routing number to Chase? I *think* that is what will happen, but I don't know. She's a disabled vet, so she doesn't really want to go through the expense of new checks or worry about deposits missing, etc. Can anybody who may have gone through this reassure us?

Thanks,

Fern

 

[Icarus]

She doesn't have to do anything now. Her checks are good, and don't need to be changed.

-David

 

[Jan]

My husband gets a retirement check from them. Are we going to loose it or does someone else take over the pension?
Jan

 

[SDKath]

My house loan is from WaMu.

Can I stop paying it? Please???

K

 

[ricoba]

Goodbye to an old "Friend of the Family"

For you old time Seattleites & Northwesterners...it's hard for us to not remember WaMu as "The Friend of the Family". If we could only turn back the clock to those days when WaMu was the little thrift that could.

 

[Phill12]

My house loan is from WaMu.

Can I stop paying it? Please???

K

Only thinking of yourself! :hysterical: :hysterical:

We also have our home loan with them and direct withdrawal payment on fourth of each month!

The news was that checking saving accts would keep same acct numbers and nothing would change. I never heard about the home loans.


PHIL

 

[Icarus]

My husband gets a retirement check from them. Are we going to loose it or does someone else take over the pension?
Jan

Good question. I have no idea what you mean about "from them". He gets a check directly from WaMu or from somebody else? Are they just the custodian of a retirement account, or is he a retired WaMu employee?

Either way, you're going to have to investigate. If it's just a custodial account, then the assets are probably safe. Those things have to be segregated from other assets by law as far as I know.

The people that are screwed are shareholders and anybody holding any WaMu corporate debt.

-David

 

[cvmar]

I am very sad to see what has happened to WaMu. I have had an account there for over 20 years. They got too big too fast and lost there way and now they are gone. According to the news tonight within the next 2 years all remnants of the WaMu name will be history. When I was just a kid my parents banked at National Bank of Commerce (NBC Bank) which then became Rainier Bank which then became SeaFirst Bank and is now Bank of America! Time for me to look for a local bank.

 

[Icarus]

My house loan is from WaMu.

Can I stop paying it? Please???

K

Sure. You can stop paying it anytime you like. It's the American way.

-David

 

[Icarus]

I am very sad to see what has happened to WaMu. I have had an account there for over 20 years. They got too big too fast and lost there way and now they are gone

They bought into the subprime profit addiction hook, line and sinker. Weren't they the largest originators of subprime loans? Or was that Countrywide and they were #2?

-David

 

[DaveNV]

I live in northwest Washington. They reported on the evening news here that this was not a bank failure or closure - it was a sale. Further, Chase is only buying a portion of Wamu, and Wamu as a company is not going under. So somebody is mistaken here someplace.

Before anyone gets all fired up about what may or not change, I recommend getting more of the facts of the situation.

Dave

 

[DeniseM]

In the news: Government seizes Washington Mutual, sells most to J.P. Morgan Chase

"For all depositors and other customers of Washington Mutual Bank, this is simply a combination of two banks," said the FDIC chairwoman, Sheila Bair, adding that for Washington Mutual's customers, it would be "business as usual come Friday morning."

 

[Icarus]

I live in northwest Washington. They reported on the evening news here that this was not a bank failure or closure - it was a sale. Further, Chase is only buying a portion of Wamu, and Wamu as a company is not going under. So somebody is mistaken here someplace.

Before anyone gets all fired up about what may or not change, I recommend getting more of the facts of the situation.

Dave

lol, Dave. I guess when the FDIC steps in and takes over a bank and then sells it to another bank, it's not a bank failure? It's a sale? This is certainly much better than a complete FDIC takeover, since none of it's depositors will lose anything, even if their deposits exceed the FDIC insured amount. But the net result for WaMu is basically the same thing.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080926...morgan_news;_ylt=AsH.1qHqRLfDmsF_q3mxzglg.3QA

WaMu is done, Dave. Stick a fork in it if you don't believe it. Of course, the TV news there must be right because it's TV. I suppose there could be some part of the corporate entity that remains intact, but I doubt it. The entire thing will be sold off to pay it's creditors, I'm sure.

Check the stock price in the morning. See if there is a price.

-David

 

[Icarus]

from wamu.com's "about us" page:

You'll know it right away: We're not like other banks. We've always been about making things better for people—our customers, employees and neighbors.

 

[Icarus]

WM may still be trading. Looks like the price is 16 cents.

-David

 

[esk444]

I had a checking account at a small regional bank that went under. The FDIC brokered a deal where our accounts were transfered to ING Direct. ING Direct created new accounts for us with new account numbers immediately, but worked it out where are old checks and direct deposits to our old account and routing numbers took cash out of our new accounts for 3 additional months.

They said our old checks were good for 3 months, but encouraged us to use the complementary new checks they gave us. Because if the recipient deposited the check after 3 months, ING would return the check to the depositor bank.

Then ING sent us a ton of reminders over the next few months to use the new checks and change our direct deposit info ASAP. The only problem I had with the transfer was with my student loans (Direct Loans) which kept screwing up, requiring me to write a couple of manual checks till I could sort it all out.

Ultimately, I eventually switched all my accounts to Bank of America because I hated paying so many ATM fees and ING didn't have any ATM's or branches in my area.

One nice thing was that even though ING repeatedly warned us that our old accounts numbers would cease, they did cash a check I wrote to someone (even after I kept telling him to cash that check ASAP) after the deadline with no penalty.

 

[nazclk]

WaMu

So will business be as usual at the branches? I wonder if you have a checking account if you can close it and take your money to a different
Bank.

 

[Phill12]

I live in northwest Washington. They reported on the evening news here that this was not a bank failure or closure - it was a sale. Further, Chase is only buying a portion of Wamu, and Wamu as a company is not going under. So somebody is mistaken here someplace.

Before anyone gets all fired up about what may or not change, I recommend getting more of the facts of the situation.

Dave

Dave,your wrong because the FDIC walked in yesterday afternoon and closed Washington Mutual and sold part of it to JP Morgan Chase. They were one of about five companies looking at a buy out but it sounds like JP Morgan Chase was the best choice.

This is normally done on Fridays but the FDIC couldn't wait so it was closed.


PHIL

 

[nazclk]

WaMu

So I guess the $64 question is did it fold or was it sold ???

 

[DeniseM]

So I guess the $64 question is did it fold or was it sold ???

And the answer is YES!

 

[Fern Modena]

According to what I read, WaMu *did* fold. It was taken over by the Fed briefly. They then were able to persuade JPMorganChase to purchase the banking part of the company. The Fed did not have to guarantee any part of the deposits in the transaction.

So I guess the $64 question is did it fold or was it sold ???

 

[Icarus]

So I guess the $64 question is did it fold or was it sold ???

Denise is right. The FDIC took it over and immediately sold the banking business to JP Morgan. Apparently, there was an auction held on Wednesday for it. I think I read that at the FDIC site, or in one of the other news stories.

-David

 

[Icarus]

So will business be as usual at the branches? I wonder if you have a checking account if you can close it and take your money to a different
Bank.

Yes, but there's no need to move your money. JPM Chase isn't going anywhere. Why would you want to close your account there now?

It's business as usual at all WaMu branches.

Who's next? Wachovia?

-David