Washington Mutual FDIC seizure: update

WaMu one of the biggest US banks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy according to reports in Business Wire, WaMu’s spokesperson said they couldn’t comment.

The 119-year old Seattle-based bank on September 25 had its banking unit seized by government officials after customers of the failing bank withdrew $16.7 billion over the period of 10 days. JPMorgan Chase & Co brought £1.9 billion of WaMu’s branches from the federal Deposit Insurance making it the biggest US bank by deposits.

Washington Mutual whose bank had $188 billion in deposit shares fell 98 percent over the last year due to the losses tied to subprime lending before the FDIC seized the bank, this came shortly after the bank became one of the many banks who were banned from short selling.

WaMu is now the latest victim of the credit crunch which has led to the financial crisis that has engulfed the world and torn down Wall Street, with IndyMac BankCorp and Lehman Brother Holdings Inc forced into bankruptcy, Bank of America Corp brought out the troubled Merrill Lynch & Co and the Federal Reserve-financed purchased Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Other big banks showed interest in buying all or parts of WaMu before JPMorgan Chase brought the seized bank.

Read the full article in Bloombergfree three and out movie download