WaMu down. Who's next?

[romulusnr]

Judging by the NYT graphic...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/15/business/20080916-treemap-graphic.html

I expect AIG then National to go down. That is, if any more banks go down. I wouldn't be surprised if WaMu marks the end of the shakeout. Like Countrywide, WaMu chased after risky lending and investment. Oh, it also grew like a plague in the past six years.

Citi and a couple of regionals are looking iffy.

Then again, with the news today, maybe we'll see less bank runs as people decide not to kill their banks.

[Catshrink]

1. My very first savings account as a kid was at Washington Mutual.

It was in Seattle though a school program. One day, my Mom took me downtown to the big bank to make a deposit. I remember how awed I was at the huge vault, marble floors, wooden teller stations, etc. I was about 7 years old and that image of Washington Mutual has always been with me. I haven't banked with them for years but always had a weird emotional attachement to them.

[romulusnr]

4. hah

My first savings account was at a bank (Security National) that got bought out about six years later (by Bank of New England).

That bank got bought (by Fleet) after it failed a few short years later.

In college I got an account at a regional bank (Shawmut) which also got bought by Fleet. (Who sucked.) When Fleet bought BankBoston (the result of Bank of Boston buying BayBank), the FTC forced it to divest some holdings, so my account went to Sovereign.

When I moved cross-country I switched from Sovereign to Washington Mutual. But they screwed me, so I went to Bank of America.

Then Fleet got bought by Bank of America, which was poetic.

Now WaMu is dead. Ding dong.

[westerebus]

2. National City. n/t

[kestrel91316]

3. I still bank with WaMu. I DEPOSITED money this week instead of pulling out

like some fools did.

Only the investors got screwed. The customers never had anything to worry about. Of course, I don't have anywhere NEAR $100k in my account, lol.

It's business as usual today. I'll make a transfer and pay some bills online out of the account.

[John Caelan]

5. Oh, no, so much more to come...

Unfortunately, this bail out is a distraction and last run at the money. We have serious systemic issues that go far beyond the mortgage market:

"There is not enough money in the world to circumvent a massive correction in the market. Literally. That's the problem. There is not a lot of money, actual wealth, at all. There are just a lot of people saying they have money. They hold up a bond that's worth six cents and declare, "This is worth a dollar." You think it is a damnable offense that some family lies on a mortgage application, exaggerating assets, to get a loan? Corporations like Lehman, Fannie and Freddie, AIG, and the whole line up yet to come all did this to the tune of hundreds of billions. But with every default, more of these toxic bonds get found out. You see, the corporations aren't really losing money; they are just being forced to reveal that they didn't have the money in the first place. This is why "the credit" has come to a standstill. That is the usual consequence of lying to your creditors..."

from Update II: The Hostile Takeover of America

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=17986969&blogID=436040711