It’s a good news / bad news day for local lending juggernaut Washington Mutual.
The good news: They got a big cash infusion from a private investment group, and may not go the way of New Century.
The bad news: They’re completely pulling out of wholesale lending, closing their home loan centers, and eliminating 3,000 more jobs.
Washington Mutual Inc., hit hard by rising delinquencies and defaults on mortgages, said Tuesday it will receive $7 billion in new capital from an investment group led by private equity firm TPG but will post a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter.
The Seattle-based thrift said it will lose $1.1 billion during the first quarter and take a provision for loan losses of $3.5 billion – $1.5 billion more than previously expected. Wall Street had forecast a loss of $344.3 million, according to Thomson Financial survey of analysts.
Separately, the country’s largest savings and loan said it will get out of the wholesale lending business, close all remaining standalone home loan centers and lay off 3,000 workers.
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“I think it’s enough capital to get them all the way through,” said D.A. Davidson & Co. analyst Jim Bradshaw, citing the cash raised Tuesday, the company’s plan to cut its dividend and $2.9 billion raised late last year in a stock sale.But, he said, “I suspect the company is going to be smaller a year from now, maybe dramatically smaller.”
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To further shore up its capital position, WaMu will cut its quarterly dividend to 1 cent from 15 cents, saving about $490 million a year.
Recall that just last December they also chopped 3,000 positions, mostly from their home-loan centers.
Would anyone have guessed just a year ago that we would be seeing such drastic measures today? I doubt it.
(Jessica Mintz, Associated Press, 04.08.2008)