The 13th largest bank failed.
WASHINGTON: US bank JPMorgan Chase is to take over the deposits and the bulk of the operations of its struggling competitor Washington Mutual at the request of US officials, media reported Thursday. Washington Mutual - the second largest savings and loan institution in the United States - had reportedly approached certain private equity firms as possible candidates to take it over.
The Wall Street Journal said a deal could be reached late Thursday "in a deal that would mark the end of independence for what once was the largest US thrift." The New York Times, citing people briefed on the deal, added the government had arranged for the bank, known as WaMu, to sell its deposits and some branches to JPMorgan Chase. Shares of the Seattle, Washington-based Washington Mutual have lost 80 percent of their value since the beginning of 2008.
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In response to news that Washington Mutual had become the latest U.S. financial institution to fail, Obama released the following statement...
The government-brokered sale of Washington Mutual is the latest sign of the perilous situation facing our financial system and our economy. Although Americans with deposits at Washington Mutual should rest assured that they are safe under this arrangement, the failures of our financial institutions threaten economic instability, jobs, and the incomes of American families. This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. This is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem – this is an American problem. Now, we must find an American solution.
1 comment:
And Wamu is big, really big, making Chase even bigger....and they (WH/Gerbil) won't dare use the word recession, how about the big "D" for depression?
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