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Oh, Snap: WaMu CEO “Ousted”

Posted on September 7, 2008September 7, 2008 by The Tim

Wall Street Journal: Washington Mutual Forces Out CEO

Kerry Killinger, who helped build Washington Mutual Inc. into the nation’s largest thrift and then presided over its rapid decline, is being ousted as chief executive, making him the latest casualty of the mortgage crisis.

For months, Mr. Killinger had fought off a growing chorus of calls for his removal. Even after Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wachovia Corp. pushed out their chiefs over mortgage-related write-downs, and Mr. Killinger disclosed losses at WaMu of as much as $19 billion, the company’s board, dominated by associates and longtime allies, continued to back him.

The board recently got new blood in key posts and concluded WaMu needed an outsider to signal a fresh start, according to people familiar with the matter. Board leaders conducted a discreet search for Mr. Killinger’s replacement and told the CEO Thursday that they wanted him to retire, these people said.

Succeeding Mr. Killinger will be Alan Fishman, currently chairman of New York commercial mortgage broker Meridian Capital Group. Before joining Meridian in 2007, Mr. Fishman was president and chief operating officer of Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bank, the nation’s second-largest thrift.

Too little, too late?

P-I Coverage from Bill Virgin: WaMu’s woes claim CEO Killinger

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