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Washington Mutual Seized by Feds, Assets Bought by JPMorgan
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 25, 2008
Modified Sep 26, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 25, 2008
Modified Sep 26, 2008
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Biggest U.S. bank failure ever: Washington Mutual, which struggled to find a buyer, was closed by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision and the FDIC, for "insufficient liquidity" and being "unsound." The government orchestrated JPMorgan Chase's purchase of WaMu deposits for just $1.9 billion. WaMu's is the country's biggest savings and loan and has $310 billion in assets, but was affected by the mortgage crisis. Also, while shareholders and bondholds will be wiped out, the NY Times says Wamu customers "are unlikely to be affected." (Also, the FDIC insures deposits up to $100,000). Earlier this year, WaMu rejected JPMorgan's takeover at $4/share--an analyst told Bloomberg News, "JPMorgan is getting a steal compared with what they were going to pay. It's very tragic.''
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bank failure
JPMorgan Chase
savings and loan
WaMu
washington mutual
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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