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WaMus Last Breathes

TimberTimber
edited October 2008 in Seattle Real Estate
WaMu is pretty closely tied to the seattle market with lots of local mortgages made through the S&L giant so I figured this would be a good place to start a thread that follows the final days of WaMu.

Here is the big WaMu story of today. WaMu loses 22 percent of its stock price and potential investors are walking away.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080910/wamu_shares.html

Comments

  • SeattleMooseSeattleMoose
    Good riddance!!!
  • TimberTimber
    WaMu is now junk bond status.

    "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Monday cut its ratings on Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) into junk territory, citing exposures the bank has to bad mortgage debt and volatile markets.

    "The company's weak equity pricing in the markets is also a concern, and it increasingly appears that market conditions could overtake credit fundamentals and leave the company with greatly diminished financial flexibility," S&P said in a statement."

    http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/id ... 9120080915
  • TimberTimber
    "Federal regulators gauging other banks interests in purchasing Washington Mutual

    NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. government has been reaching out to large banks in an effort to organize a buyout of the beleaguered Washington Mutual Inc., according to a person briefed on the talks between regulators and banks.

    The obstacle, however, is that "no one knows what's in their books," the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. There could be, he said, "a minimum amount of value there.""

    http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080917/washington_mutual.html
  • Nell PlottsNell Plotts
    Some of us remember when Benjamin Franklin S & L hdq in Portland was brought down after they accommodated the Feds by buying out a troubled institution. After the merger the combined reserves pulled them down.

    Transparency today is even worse than during the S & L crisis. So, what were the Examiners doing while the mess was developing?

    Does anyone know the backstory on the departure of the mortgage VP (a real VP) about 4-5 years ago? He lived on BI, then went to AZ, then left WaMu.

    I like WaMu banking staff but have heard of no good experiences with their loan departments.
  • Charles DeanCharles Dean
    WaMu going down is finally official!

    http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/ ... f=business
  • TimberTimber
    WM still going down. They are below $2 for the day. The bailout has just been finished and the market is up big and yet WaMu is down over 20% for the day.

    May have something to do with the FDIC asking for $150 billion for future bank failures.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=home&sid=amZxIbcjZISU
    "In 2006, IndyMac was the largest provider of mortgages that didn't require borrowers to provide proof of their incomes. And as of mid-September, investors were worried that Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest thrift in the U.S., would be the next bank to go belly up.

    A federal takeover of Washington Mutual, which has assets of $310 billion, could cost taxpayers $24 billion more, according to Richard Bove, an analyst at Miami-based Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. "
  • MarkorMarkor
    The odds seem great that WM will be below $1 or above $3 in the near future. Too bad I don't know which.
  • Notorious A.R.T.Notorious A.R.T.
    WAMU is gone with the wind....
    The after hours price is at 45 cents.
    http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080925/business ... .html?.v=1
  • GetRealGetReal
    ... now JPMorgan Chase ... Goodbye, WaMu
  • TJ_98370TJ_98370
    .
    A KIRO 7 report - JPMorgan Chase Confirms WaMu Deal
    .
    JP Morgan Chase Confirms WaMu Deal
    .
    JPMorgan Chase said it is buying the banks, but not the holding company. All of WaMu deposits and certain liabilities are bought, but not unsecured debt. The $1.9 billion transaction closes immediately and they are now the new owner.....
    .
  • TimberTimber
    WaMu finally is gone so now its time for everyone to find a new target. Seems like Wachovia has gotten a lot of press and will be the next to go.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    So, what does this mean for jobs/commercial real estate in King County?
  • victorchaivictorchai
    rose-colored-coolaid wrote:
    So, what does this mean for jobs/commercial real estate in King County?
    Coolaid, that's a Q of no Q
  • TejasTejas
    Timber wrote:
    WaMu finally is gone so now its time for everyone to find a new target. Seems like Wachovia has gotten a lot of press and will be the next to go.

    Good call. They have been 'retired' this morning. Of course the FDIC says they did not "fail", but they are picking up the waste no one else will buy. :roll:

    http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080929/wachovia_citigroup.html
  • redmondjpredmondjp
    http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20081003/jpmorgan-chase-washington-mutual-wamu-bank-subprime-mortgage-crisis-credit-crunch.htm

    So, let's see . . . JPCMWaMu will let their employees know by December first which of the following three categories they will fall into:

    1. Those that will be laid off right away.
    2. Those that will be retained through the transition period and then laid off.
    3. Those that will stay.

    Ouch. Not a merry Christmas for a lot of WaMu employees right now. Hard to spend money on presents when you don't know if you'll even have a job.

    On the good side, they gave people advanced notice, and apparently are letting people get their resumes in shape. That's certainly better than getting the tap on the shoulder and being handed a cardboard box.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    That plan sounds quite humane to me. Being laid off is absolutely not fun, but employees at WAMU have 2 months warning that layoffs will be coming. That's not enough time to save 3-6 mos worth of expenses (if you don't already have it), but it is enough warning to cut back on Christmas spending and maybe save at least 1 mos expenses.

    Meanwhile, I'm thinking the Boeing Machinists have chosen the wrong time to go on strike...the 787 wasn't ready for manufacturing anyways, and it's going to be hard for those guys to moonlight while they are out on strike if things draw out. They needed to push it off about 1.5 years.
  • Charles DeanCharles Dean
    Even before the strike happened, a couple of the machinists that I knew said that they knew they were going to strike, but that it wouldn't last more than a month or two.
  • david_mcmanusdavid_mcmanus
    Meanwhile, I'm thinking the Boeing Machinists have chosen the wrong time to go on strike.

    I said that when they were about to go on strike and I was blasted for it. Hope they saved up.
  • lannypoffolannypoffo
    Gapevine has it that employees being laid off immediately will get 2 months of severance for every year of service. For those that will be retained, but get laid off at a later time, they will get an immediate bump in salary, sometime up to doubled. Not sure how this would play with employees retained after the acquisition is completed. Not sure the credibility of the souce so take with a grain of salt.
  • redmondjpredmondjp
    Update: On Friday evening I got a phone call from Citibank-JP-Chase-Morgan (yes, they actually said all of that on the phone) asking me to participate in a phone survey regarding my recent experiences with the downtown Redmond branch of WaMu where I do most of my banking. The questions focused on wait times, friendliness, ability to answer questions, etc. I gave them high marks as I have had really good experiences with everybody there.

    So they are already gathering data regarding which branches they want to close, who to lay off, etc.
  • Civil ServantCivil Servant
    The article quotes new CEO Scharf as saying that "most of the people here" (in Seattle, presumably at HQ) will be retained. Is it possible that the local impact of the takeover will barely ripple?
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    Civil Servant wrote:
    The article quotes new CEO Scharf as saying that "most of the people here" (in Seattle, presumably at HQ) will be retained. Is it possible that the local impact of the takeover will barely ripple?

    Retained for how long?

    What does "most" mean? 95%? 52%?
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