Washington Mutual

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Perry Gave Huge Tax Grants to Subprime Lenders

Countrywide, WaMu got $35M as they upped risky loans

(Newser) - Rick Perry handed mortgage lenders millions to draw them to Texas—right when their risky lending practices surged. The governor gave Countrywide $20 million and Washington Mutual $15 million in what he called an exemplary job-creation move; in effect, that $35 million subsidized dangerous subprime lending, an AP analysis of...

Washington Mutual Wrote a Subprime Rap Song
Washington Mutual Wrote
a Subprime Rap Song
Not a joke!
Apr 14, 2010 10:12 AM CDT

Washington Mutual Wrote a Subprime Rap Song

'I like big bucks and I cannot lie'

(Newser) - “I like big bucks, and I cannot lie/You mortgage brothers can’t deny.” Those are actual lines from an actual horrible rap knockoff that was actually performed at the Washington Mutual President’s Club Awards Dinner in 2006—you know, around the same time that the company was...

WaMu 'Poisoned' Financial System: Senate Report

Senate panel says lender knowingly built 'mortgage time bomb'

(Newser) - Washington Mutual made subprime loans it knew would go bad, then packaged them into risky securities, creating a “mortgage time bomb,” according to a Senate report. The permanent investigations subcommittee is grilling former WaMu execs this morning. The report also says the bank packaged and sold loans it...

JPMorgan Plans Relief for $110B in Mortgages

WaMu customers included in measure to avoid foreclosures

(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase will help distressed homeowners by reducing interest rates or principal balances for $110 billion in mortgages, Bloomberg reports. The restructuring applies to clients of Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan agreed to buy last month. Foreclosures will be suspended on all loans for the next 90 days while the relief...

Letters to Dimon: You'll 'Die in 10 Days'

Feds hunt author of threats to bank CEO

(Newser) - A flurry of letters threatening the life of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, as well as an Oklahoma City-style bombing of a bank facility, are being investigated by the Postal Investigation Service. ABC News reports a $100,000 reward has been posted for information about the 45-plus letters, all postmarked last...

Battered Wachovia Shops for Buyers
Battered Wachovia Shops for Buyers
Sep 27, 2008 11:31 AM CDT

Battered Wachovia Shops for Buyers

Citigroup, Wells Fargo among suitors in wake of WaMu collapse

(Newser) - Wachovia is in a new round of talks with potential buyers, reports the Wall Street Journal, courting Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Spain’s Banco Santander to help guard it from the financial market crisis. While the bank says it’s not in immediate danger, shares at Wachovia, which holds a...

JPMorgan Chief Had Long Drooled Over WaMu

Firm writes down $31 billion in bad debt, but builds nation's largest bank

(Newser) - The failure of Washington Mutual was an opportunity for JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who long held a desire to buy the bank, the Seattle Times reports, and saw its large West Coast presence as particularly attractive. Now Dimon, who incorporated Bear Stearns earlier this year, has used the credit...

Stocks Sink; Bush Pledges Deal
 Stocks Sink; Bush Pledges Deal 
MARKETS
Sep 26, 2008 8:52 AM CDT

Stocks Sink; Bush Pledges Deal

Dow falls over 100 points at open

(Newser) - Socks plummeted today as confidence in the federal bailout program evaporated and investors absorbed the collapse of Washington Mutual. The Dow fell 140 points after the opening bell, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.2% and the S&P fell 1.7%, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Bush gave a...

European Markets Slide as US Rescue Talks Stall

The lack of resolution in Washington sends shudders around the globe

(Newser) - European markets swooned on news of the US bailout troubles and the failure of Washington Mutual, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 1.5%, Germany’s DAX index slipped 1.4%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC-40 each shed 1.3%....

JPMorgan Buys WaMu After Regulators Seize It
JPMorgan Buys WaMu
After Regulators Seize It
updated
Sep 25, 2008 7:43 PM CDT

JPMorgan Buys WaMu After Regulators Seize It

(Newser) - Federal regulators seized Washington Mutual tonight and sold nearly all of its operations to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion, the Washington Post reports. It is the largest bank failure in US history. WaMu, previously the nation's largest savings and loan, had been reeling from bad mortgage loans and put itself...

Stocks Climb Nearly 200 Points
 Stocks Climb Nearly 200 Points 
MARKETS
Sep 25, 2008 3:15 PM CDT

Stocks Climb Nearly 200 Points

Poor housing, durable goods goods data don't deter market's optimism

(Newser) - Stocks rallied this afternoon on news that lawmakers had reached a consensus on the Wall Street bailout plan, MarketWatch reports. Optimism proved infectious as GE rose 6.26% despite cutting an earnings estimate earlier today. The Dow climbed 196.89 points to 11,022.06. The Nasdaq gained 30.89...

WaMu Looks to Private Equity as Bank Teeters

Blackstone, Carlyle in talks after overtures to other banks flop

(Newser) - Washington Mutual is hoping private equity will save the bank after its efforts to broker a sale to another financial institution came to nothing. Both the Carlyle Group and Blackstone are considering a takeover of WaMu, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal, although a deal is not yet assured. Many...

Morgan Stanley, WaMu Edge Closer to Deals

WaMu readies for sale while Morgan mulls merger options

(Newser) - Two of the biggest financial institutions in the midst of the market turmoil are moving closer to hammering out deals. Washington Mutual's suitors are believed to include Citibank, JP Morgan and Bank of America, insiders tell Bloomberg, while Morgan Stanley and Wachovia have stepped up merger talks, reports the New ...

WaMu Gets OK to Raise Capital as It Seeks Sale

Investor OKs share dilution as beleaguered bank looks for suitors

(Newser) - Washington Mutual is attempting to raise capital or sell itself, the Wall Street Journal reports, and it got a big boost in that effort yesterday from TPG. The private equity firm, which sunk $7 billion into WaMu in April, waived a clause that would have effectively prevented the thrift from...

Feds Search for WaMu Buyer
 Feds Search for WaMu Buyer 
Sep 17, 2008 1:06 PM CDT

Feds Search for WaMu Buyer

Falling share price stokes worries of a bank run

(Newser) - Washington Mutual, America's largest savings and loan, may be the next big financial institution to fail, the New York Post reports. Fearing a run on the struggling bank, federal regulators placed calls yesterday gauging interest in a WaMu buyout to Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, and others, but no...

Credit Crisis at Tipping Point
Credit Crisis at Tipping Point
analysis
Sep 12, 2008 9:29 AM CDT

Credit Crisis at Tipping Point

As troubles mount, US government's intervention shows signs of strain

(Newser) - The federal government keeps taking aggressive steps to keep the markets from flying off the rails, and yet here we are again: facing another crisis and wondering how much intervention is necessary, the Wall Street Journal reports. With government intervention showing signs of strain amid entrenched economic problems, the crisis...

Late Reversal Leads to Gains
 Late Reversal Leads to Gains 
MARKETS
Sep 11, 2008 3:39 PM CDT

Late Reversal Leads to Gains

Off big early on Lehman, worries, Dow finishes session up 164.79

(Newser) - The markets saw gains late in the day today despite large losses in the financial sector, MarketWatch reports. Lehman Brothers fell another 41.9% as traders deemed its survival plan ineffective. But falling oil boosted industrial and transport shares, and the Dow closed up 164.79 at 11,43371. The...

WaMu Cans CEO Killinger

From rapid expansion and growth to rapid decline, WaMu is in deep trouble

(Newser) - The enduring subprime contagion has claimed another victim, as downtrodden Washington Mutual has forced out CEO Kerry Killinger, reports the Wall Street Journal. Killinger, who has led the nation’s largest thrift since 1990, and has taken it from a small Seattle business into one of the nation’s largest...

Could-Have-Been-Worse News Now Cheers Wall Street
Could-Have-Been-Worse News Now Cheers Wall Street
ANALYSIS
Jul 23, 2008 5:56 AM CDT

Could-Have-Been-Worse News Now Cheers Wall Street

A year into crisis, analysts redefine once-shocking news as not so bad

(Newser) - Yesterday's announcements of multibillion-dollar losses at Wachovia and Washington Mutual were only the latest poundings since the credit crisis took hold a year ago. Yet Wall Street, its expectations at rock bottom, cheered the reports because they could have been worse. Shares in WaMu, which posted a $3.3 billion...

Financials Key Downward Spiral
 Financials Key Downward Spiral 
MARKETS
Jun 2, 2008 3:38 PM CDT

Financials Key Downward Spiral

Executive shuffles at WaMu, Wachovia give market jitters

(Newser) - Financials keyed major market losses as high-level personnel shuffles at Wachovia and Washington Mutual, plus a report by Standard and Poor that downgraded the ratings of several prominent banks, disconcerted investors, MarketWatch notes. The Dow lost 134.50 to settle at 12,503.82, and the Nasdaq lost 31.13,...

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