Global InformationWashington Mutual information
 | |
Trade name |
|
|---|---|
Traded as | Nasdaq: WAMU |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | September 25, 1889[1][2] |
| Defunct | September 25, 2008 |
| Fate | Chapter 11 bankruptcy |
| Successors |
|
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, United States |
Key people | Kerry Killinger (CEO) |
| Products | Consumer banking Financial services |
| Revenue | US$15.962 billion |
| Total assets |
|
Number of employees | 49,403 |
| Website | Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) |
Washington Mutual, Inc. (often abbreviated to WaMu) was an American savings bank holding company based in Seattle. It was the parent company of WaMu Bank, which was the largest savings and loan association in the United States until its collapse in 2008.[5][6][7][8][9]
On September 25, 2008, the United States Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) seized WaMu's banking operations and placed it into receivership with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).[10] The OTS took the action due to the withdrawal of US$16.7 billion in deposits during a 9-day bank run (amounting to 9% of the deposits it had held on June 30, 2008).[11] The FDIC sold the banking subsidiaries (minus unsecured debt and equity claims) to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, which had been considering acquiring WaMu as part of a plan internally nicknamed "Project West".[12][13][14] All WaMu branches were rebranded as Chase branches by the end of 2009.[15] The holding company was left with $33 billion in assets, and $8 billion in debt, after being stripped of its banking subsidiary by the FDIC.[6][7][16][17] The next day, it filed for Chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy in Delaware, where it was incorporated.[7][16]
Regarding total assets under management, WaMu's closure and receivership is the largest bank failure in American financial history.[6][7] Before the receivership action, it was the sixth-largest bank in the United States.[18] According to WaMu's 2007 SEC filing, the holding company held assets valued at $327.9 billion (~$464 billion in 2023).[19]
On March 20, 2009, WaMu filed suit against the FDIC in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking damages of approximately $13 billion (~$17.9 billion in 2023) for an alleged unjustified seizure and unfair low sale price to JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase promptly filed a counterclaim in the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where the WaMu bankruptcy proceedings had been continuing since the Office of Thrift Supervision's seizure of the holding company's bank subsidiaries.[20][21]
- ^ Bansal, Paritosh (September 26, 2008). "FDIC crashes WaMu's birthday bash". DealZone. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WAMU-Corporate Historywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "WMI HOLDINGS CORP. 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. March 14, 2014.
- ^ "WMI HOLDINGS CORP. 2012 Q3 Quarterly Report Form (10-Q)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. November 8, 2013.
- ^ A savings bank holding company is defined in United States Code: Title 12: Banks and Banking; Section 1842: Definitions; Subsection (l): Savings Bank Holding Company See: 12 U.S.C. § 1841
- ^ a b c "OTS 08-046 – Washington Mutual Acquired by JPMorgan Chase" (Press release). Office of Thrift Supervision. September 25, 2008. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Levy, Ari & Hester, Elizabeth (September 26, 2008). "JPMorgan Buys WaMu Deposits; Regulators Seize Thrift". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^ Shen, Linda (September 26, 2008). "WaMu's Bank Split From Holding Company, Sparing FDIC". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
- ^ Dash, Eric (April 7, 2008). "$5 Billion Said to Be Near for WaMu". The New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
- ^ Rubbery, William. "OTS Fact Sheet on Washington Mutual Bank" (PDF). Stanford Edu.
- ^ Zarroli, Jim (September 26, 2008). "Washington Mutual Collapses". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ Debtor's Motion for an Order Directing the Production of Documents from Knowledgeable Parties (PDF). United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Report). December 14, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2009 – via Kurtzman Carson Consultants.
- ^ Grind, Kirstin (December 27, 2009). "Washington Mutual's final days — The deal". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
- ^ Racki, Troy (February 10, 2010). "WaMu Equity Makes Case Via YouTube". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ Letzing, John. "WaMu seized, sold to J.P. Morgan Chase". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ a b Chasan, Emily & Maler, Sandra (September 27, 2008). "WaMu files bankruptcy petition in Delaware". Reuters. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
- ^ Reich, John M. (September 25, 2008). OTS receivership order for Washington Mutual (PDF) (Report). Office of Thrift Supervision. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
- ^ Dash, Eric & Sorkin, Andrew Ross (September 26, 2008). "Government Seizes WaMu and Sells Some Assets". Business. The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2007 (Report). Securities and Exchange Commission. May 22, 2008. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ WMI v. FDIC (Washington Mutual court complaint) (PDF) (Report). United States District Court for the District of Columbia. March 20, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2010 – via Northwest Progressive Institute.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (March 21, 2009). "Washington Mutual sues FDIC for over $13 billion". Reuters. Retrieved May 7, 2009.