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Wikipedia

Washington Mutual

April 12, 2024

"WaMu" redirects here. For the radio station, see WAMU.

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]

Washington Mutual, Inc.
  • Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association (1889–1908)
  • Washington Savings and Loan Association (1908–1917)
  • Washington Mutual Savings Bank (1917–1994)
  • Washington Mutual Bank (1994–2006)
  • WaMu Bank (2006–2008)
Nasdaq: WAMU
IndustryFinance and Insurance
FoundedSeptember 25, 1889; 134 years ago (1889-09-25)[1][2]
DefunctSeptember 25, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-09-25)
FateChapter 11 bankruptcy
Successors
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, United States
Key people
Kerry Killinger (CEO)
ProductsConsumer banking
Financial services
RevenueUS$15.962 billion
Total assets
  • US$ 267.638 million (2013) [3]
  • US$ 339.916 million (2012) [4]
Number of employees
49,403
WebsiteArchived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

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]

Business operations prior to bank receivership edit

 
A former WaMu branch in the Chinatown section of New York City (2004)

Despite its name, WaMu ceased being a mutual company in 1983 when it demutualized and became a public company on March 11.[22] On June 30, 2008, WaMu had total assets of $307 billion (~$427 billion in 2023), with 2,239 retail branch offices operating in 15 states, with 4,932 ATMs, and 43,198 employees. It held liabilities in the form of deposits of $188.3 billion, and owed $82.9 billion to the Federal Home Loan Bank, and had subordinated debt of $7.8 billion. It held as assets of $118.9 billion in single-family loans, of which $52.9 billion were "option adjustable rate mortgages" (option ARMs), with $16 billion in subprime mortgage loans, and $53.4 billion of Home Equity lines of Credit (HELOCs) and credit cards receivables of $10.6 billion. It was servicing for itself and other banks loans totaling $689.7 billion, of which $442.7 were for other banks. It had non-performing assets of $11.6 billion, including $3.23 billion in payment option ARMs and $3.0 billion in subprime mortgage loans.[23]

On September 15, 2008, the holding company received a credit rating agency downgrade. From that date through September 24, 2008, WaMu experienced a bank run whereby customers withdrew $16.7 billion in deposits over those nine days,[17] and in excess of $22 billion in cash outflow since July 2008, both conditions which ultimately led the Office of Thrift Supervision to close the bank.[23]

The FDIC then sold most of the bank's assets to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion in cash plus assumption of all secured debt and some unsecured debt. Claims of the subsidiary bank's equity holders, senior and subordinated debt (all primarily owned by the holding company) were not assumed by JPMorgan Chase.[clarification needed][7][24][25]

History edit

 
The WaMu Tower at 1201 Third Avenue in Seattle, Washington

Mutual savings bank edit

WaMu was incorporated as the Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association on September 25, 1889, after the Great Seattle Fire destroyed 120 acres (49 ha) of the central business district of Seattle. The newly formed company made its first home mortgage loan on the West Coast on February 10, 1890. It changed its name to Washington Savings and Loan Association on June 25, 1908.[2] By September 12, 1917, it was operating under the name WaMu Savings Bank.[26] The company purchased its first company, the financially distressed Continental Mutual Savings Bank, on July 25, 1930.[2] Its marketing slogan for much of its history was "The Friend of the Family".

Post-demutualization growth edit

In April 1982, WaMu purchased the brokerage firm Murphey Favre for undisclosed amount in cash[27] and demutualized the following year, converting into a capital stock savings bank.[28] Stock in the capital stock savings bank was first offered for sale on March 11, 1983.[29] By 1989, its assets had doubled.[2]

In November 1994, WaMu formed a new holding called Washington Mutual, Inc. and separated its non-banking units from its primary banking unit, Washington Mutual Savings Bank, which was simultaneously renamed Washington Mutual Bank.[30][31][32] The company's stock continued to trade on Nasdaq under WAMU.

In October 2005, WaMu purchased the formerly "subprime" credit card issuer Providian for approximately $6.5 billion, although Providian's new management team's strategy of targeting Prime credit card consumers had been underway since 2001, therefore the credit card unit's nonperforming loan portfolio had improved significantly prior to the company's sale to WaMu. In March 2006, WaMu began the move into its new headquarters, WaMu Center, located in downtown Seattle. The company's previous headquarters, WaMu Tower, stands about a block away from the new building on Second Avenue. In August 2006, WaMu began using the official abbreviation of WaMu in all but legal situations.[citation needed]

Acquisitions edit

 
A WaMu office in Naperville, Illinois
 
Former Dime Savings Bank branch in Brooklyn, New York
 
A WaMu Financial Center in San Jose, California

After the acquisition of Murphey Favre, WaMu made numerous acquisitions with the aim of expanding the corporation. By acquiring companies including PNC Mortgage, Fleet Mortgage and Homeside Lending, WaMu became the third-largest mortgage lender in the U.S. With the acquisition of Providian Financial Corporation in October 2005, WaMu became the nation's 9th-largest credit-card company.

Many of WaMu's acquisitions became reviled as the rapid post-merger integrations resulted in numerous errors. The purchase of the original PNC Mortgage came at a time when subprime lending was in a "boom" period, with PNC Financial Services believing that the market was too volatile.[33] (PNC later re-entered the mortgage market in 2009 through its acquisition of National City Corp., with no plans to re-enter subprime lending.) The Dime merger resulted in account ownership to be split with account beneficiaries. The Fleet Mortgage merger resulted in entire loans simply disappearing—being serviced, but unable to be found by customer service representatives.[34]

Expansion edit

Washington edit

In April 1983, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of three branch offices from the Tacoma-based United Mutual Savings Bank for $3.25 million (~$8.36 million in 2023).[35] In April 1984, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Spokane-based Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank with 14 of its 16 branch offices for $4.5 million.[36][37] At the time of the announcement, WaMu had 39 branch offices, mostly in western Washington.

In May 1987, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Wenatchee-based Columbia Federal Savings Bank for $40 million and also the Seattle-based Shoreline Savings Bank for $7.5 million.[38][39][40] At the time of the announcement in May 1987, WaMu had 50 branch offices, all within Washington state.[39] Both acquisitions were completed in April 1988.[41]

In January 1990, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of all seven offices of the Seattle-based Old Stone Bank of Washington from the Rhode Island–based Old Stone Corporation for an undisclosed amount.[42][43][44] Old Stone originally entered the state of Washington through the acquisition of the ailing Seattle-based Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1985 with the assistance of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.[45][46][47] The acquisition by WaMu was completed in June 1990 for $10 million.[48][49]

In June 1990, WaMu announced the completed acquisition of all six offices of the failed Walla Walla–based Frontier Federal Savings and Loan Association in Eastern Washington from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $1.8 million (~$3.71 million in 2023).[50][51]

In September 1990, WaMu announced the completed acquisition of all three Washington branches of the failed Utah-based Williamsburg Federal Savings and Loan Association from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $1.3 million (~$2.68 million in 2023).[52]

In November 1990, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Vancouver-based VanFed Bancorp with its Vancouver Federal Savings Bank subsidiary for $23.3 million (~$48 million in 2023).[53] At the time of the announcement in November 1990, WaMu had 75 branch offices, all within Washington state.[53] The acquisition was completed in August 1991.[54]

The acquisition of the Pacific Northwest branch offices from the New York–based CrossLand Savings Bank that was announced in April 1991 and completed in November 1991 gave WaMu four offices within the state of Washington in addition to other offices located in the state of Oregon.[55]

In August 1991, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Seattle-based Sound Savings and Loan Association for an undisclosed amount.[56] At the time of the announcement in August 1991, WaMu had 84 branch offices, all within Washington state.[56] The acquisition was completed in January 1992.[57]

In September 1991, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Bremerton-based GNW Financial Corporation with its Great Northwest Bank subsidiary for $64 million (~$128 million in 2023) in cash and stock.[58][59] The acquisition was completed in April 1992.[60]

In December 1991, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of both Washington state branch offices of the California-based World Savings and Loan Association of America, a subsidiary of Golden West Financial, for an undisclosed amount.[61] The acquisition was completed in March 1992.[62]

In August 1992, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Lynnwood-based Pioneer Savings Bank for $181 million (~$353 million in 2023) in stock.[63][64][65] The acquisition was completed in March 1993.[66]

In October 1992, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the ailing Seattle-based Pacific First Financial Corporation with its Pacific First Bank subsidiary for $663 million (~$1.29 billion in 2023) from its Canada-based parent Royal Trustco. The acquisition was contingent on having Pacific First dispose of its branch offices in California and having its Canadian parent Royal Trustco assume all of Pacific First's bad loans.[67][68][69] The acquisition was completed in April 1993.[70] At the time of the initial announcement in October 1992, WaMu had 118 branch offices in Washington and Oregon while Pacific First had 127 branch offices in Washington, Oregon and California. Pacific First had previously announced that it was trading its California offices for Great Western's Washington offices. As a result of the Pacific First acquisition, WaMu became one of the largest banking institution based upon consumer deposits in the state of Washington, second only to Seafirst.[69]

In June 1994, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Bellevue-based Summit Bancorp with its Summit Savings Bank subsidiary for $25 million in stock.[71] At the time of the announcement, WaMu had 231 branch offices in Washington and Oregon. The acquisition was completed in November 1994.[72]

In June 1995, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Bellevue-based Enterprise Bank for $26.8 million (~$49 million in 2023) in stock, this was WaMu's entry into the commercial banking sector. Enterprise Bank was a highly profitable one unit carriage trade business bank staffed with highly successful management. WaMu named Tom Cleveland President of the commercial banking unit which later included Western Bank in Coos Bay Oregon.[73][74][75] At the time of the announcement, WaMu had 260 branch offices. Unlike the previous acquisition targets, Enterprise held a commercial bank charter and not a thrift charter.

Oregon edit

In April 1991, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the 25 offices in the Portland, Oregon / Vancouver, Washington area from the failing New York–based CrossLand Savings Bank, a subsidiary of Brooklyn Bancorp, for an undisclosed amount.[76] The acquisition was completed in November 1991.[55] Seven of the 25 offices were located in Washington with the remainder in Oregon. As part of the transaction, CrossLand Savings closed seven offices in Oregon and three offices in Washington, leaving eleven offices in Oregon and four in Washington.[55] CrossLand had previously entered Oregon (and three other states) through the relatively recent acquisition of the troubled Utah-based Western Savings and Loan Association.[77][78][79] The CrossLand acquisition gave WaMu a toe hold entry into Oregon via Portland.

As a result of the Pacific First acquisition in April 1993, WaMu became the fourth largest banking institution based upon consumer deposits within the state of Oregon.[69] Originally, Pacific First grew quickly in Oregon during the late 1980s through the acquisition of troubled savings and loans.[80][81] By February 1991, Pacific First had 78 branches in Oregon, more than any other thrift.[82] Pacific First had 71 branches in Oregon by July 1992.[83]

In April 1994, WaMu announced the completed acquisition of three Portland-area offices of the failed Portland-based Far West Federal Savings Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $2.2 million (~$4.1 million in 2023).[84]

In October 1995, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Coos Bay–based Western Bank for $156 million (~$285 million in 2023) in stock.[85][86][87][88] The acquisition was completed in February 1996.[89] Since Western Bank possessed a commercial bank charter and not a more restrictive savings & loan charter, WaMu decided to allow Western Bank to keep its charter and name and to remain semi-autonomous for a while. At the time of the acquisition, Western Bank had 41 offices throughout Oregon. Five years later, WaMu decided to abandon the Western Bank brand and integrate most of the former Western Bank offices into the existing WaMu network in Oregon in 2001.[90][91] Due to branch overlaps between the two brands, 12 Western Bank branch offices and one WaMu branch office were sold to the Klamath Falls-based Klamath First Bancorp for $33 million.[92][93]

Idaho edit

In March 1994, WaMu announced that they were planning to expand into the state of Idaho by building new branch offices inside Fred Meyer supermarket stores with the first three being opened in the Boise-area in July and August.[94][95][96][97]

In the following year, WaMu opened a fourth Idaho location in a Moscow supermarket in February 1995.[98]

A branch office in Idaho Falls was acquired from the Utah-based United Savings Bank when WaMu purchased the savings bank in January 1997.[99]

By March 2000, there were 9 locations within Idaho[100] and later 22 locations in 2008 when Chase acquired WaMu.[101]

Utah edit

In July 1994, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Salt Lake City–based Olympus Capital Corporation with its Olympus Bank, FSB, subsidiary for $52.1 million in stock.[102][103] At the time of the announcement, WaMu had 250 branch offices in Washington and Oregon while Olympus had eight branch offices in Utah and two in Montana. The acquisition was completed in May 1995.[104]

In March 1996, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Ogden-based Utah Federal Savings Bank for an undisclosed amount.[105][106] At the time of the announcement, Utah Federal had five branch offices while WaMu had 16 within Utah. The acquisition was completed in December 1996 for $15.2 million (~$27.3 million in 2023).[107]

In September 1996, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Salt Lake City–based United Western Financial Group Inc. with its United Savings Bank subsidiary for $80.3 million (~$144 million in 2023) in cash.[108][109][110][111] At the time of the announcement, United Savings Bank had eight branch offices in Utah and one in Idaho. The acquisition was completed in January 1997.[99]

Montana edit

In May 1995, WaMu acquired two branch offices in Butte as the result of the acquisition of the Utah-based Olympus Capital Corporation with its Olympus Bank FSB subsidiary. Four years later, WaMu later sold the two offices to Glacier Bancorp in 1999 for an undisclosed amount and quietly left the state of Montana.[112][113]

California edit

In July 1996, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Fort Worth, Texas-based Keystone Holdings Inc. with its Irvine-based American Savings Bank subsidiary for $1.6 billion (~$2.87 billion in 2023) in stock.[114][115][116][117][118][119] At the time of the announcement, WaMu had 317 branch offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana while American Savings Bank had 220 branch offices in California.[118] The acquisition was completed in December 1996.[120][121][122][123] American kept its name after the acquisition. The result of the acquisition nearly doubled the total deposits of all WaMu subsidiaries from $22 billion to $42 billion.

In February 1997, the Chatsworth-based Great Western Financial, the holding company for second largest thrift in the nation Great Western Bank, found itself the target of a hostile takeover attempt of arch-rival H. F. Ahmanson & Co., the holding company for the largest thrift in the nation Home Savings of America, that would have involved $5.8 billion (~$10.2 billion in 2023) worth of stock. Since the two companies had large overlapping territories, many Great Western offices would have been closed by the victor if the takeover attempt had succeeded.[124][125][126] The only way the combat a hostile takeover was to find another company, a so-called white knight, that would allow a merger on much better terms. One such company was WaMu. In March, Great Western Financial announced that it had accepted WaMu's merger proposal for $6.6 billion in WaMu stock.[127][128][129] Ahmanson quickly increased their bids[130] but the bids were also rejected.[131] Great Western approved the merger with WaMu in June[132] and the merger was completed in July.[133][134] As part of its merger agreement, it was originally announced that Great Western offices would be allowed to keep the Great Western name and there were later discussion of converting the American Savings offices to the Great Western brand. In the end, it was felt that it was best for the company to have only one brand throughout the nation instead of multiple regional brands so it was announce in December 1997 that both Great Western and American names would be retired in favor of the WaMu name.[135] The previous month, it was announced in November that 85 redundant branch offices were identified in California and were to be closed within the following year.[136][137] Before the merger was complete, WaMu had a total of 413 branch operating under various names across the country while Great Western had 416 branch offices operating in California and Florida.[138]

In March 1998, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Irwindale-based H. F. Ahmanson & Company with its Home Savings of America subsidiary for approximately $10 billion in stock.[139][140][141] The acquisition was completed in October 1998 for only $6.9 billion (~$12 billion in 2023) in stock.[142] Before the merger was complete, WaMu had a total of 892 branch operating under various names (WaMu, American Savings, Great Western, etc.) across the country while Home Savings had 409 branch offices operating in California and Texas.[143][144] A few days after the completion of the merger, WaMu announced plans to close 161 branch offices in California.[145][146]

Texas edit

Through the 1998 acquisition of Home Savings, WaMu had gained 48 branch offices in Texas.

In August 2000, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Houston-based Bank United Corporation with its 155 branch offices, all located in Texas, for $1.49 billion (~$2.51 billion in 2023) in stock.[147][148][149] The acquisition was completed in February 2001.[150][151]

As a result of branch overlap between Bank United and WaMu, 17 branch offices were closed in Texas, 10 of which were in Houston.[152][153]

New York edit

In June 2001, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the New York City–based Dime Bancorp with its Dime Savings Bank subsidiary for $5.2 billion (~$8.55 billion in 2023) in cash and stock.[154][155] The acquisition was completed in January 2002.[156] Dime had 123 branch offices in the New York City area of both New York and New Jersey.[157]

Commercial banking edit

With a thrift charter, there were a few things that WaMu was not able to do until it was able to obtain a commercial bank charter, such as making commercial loans above a certain size. To get around this problem, WaMu began to purchase commercial banks and maintain them as separate business entities. In August 1995, WaMu acquired the one office Bellevue-based Enterprise Bank in Washington. A few months later, WaMu acquired the 41 office Coos Bay–based Western Bank in Oregon.[89] By 1997, the Enterprise name and Western Bank name were merged and operated under Western Bank moniker.[158]

After WaMu expanded into California through the acquisitions of American Savings, Great Western, and Home Savings, WaMu quietly acquired the one-office Industrial Bank in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles an undisclosed amount in 1999[159][160] and renamed it WM Business Bank.[159]

By 2001, WaMu had 38 specialized business banking centers operating under the Western Bank name in the Northwest and the WM Business Bank name in California when they decided to exit their ill-fated venture into the commercial banking market that was then dominated with the likes of Wells Fargo and Bank of America.[90]

Mortgage banking edit

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, WaMu decided to aggressively expand in the subprime mortgage lending field through the acquisition of existing mortgage companies at a time when other financial institutions were leaving.

In May 1999, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Orange, California-based Long Beach Financial Corporation with its Long Beach Mortgage Company subsidiary for $350.4 million (~$603 million in 2023) in cash and stock.[161][162] The acquisition was completed in October 1999.[163] Long Beach had specialized in providing subprime mortgages. Some of Long Beach's questionable business practices may have led to WaMu's failure in 2008.[164]

In January 2000, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Los Angeles–based Alta Residential Mortgage Trust for $23 million (~$38.7 million in 2023).[165]

In October 2000, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Vernon Hills, Illinois-based PNC Mortgage Corporation and PNC Mortgage Securities Corporation from the PNC Financial Services Group for $605 million (~$1.02 billion in 2023) in cash.[166][167] The acquisition was completed in February 2001.[168] The result of the PNC Mortgage acquisition made WaMu the nation's third-largest lender.

In April 2001, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Columbia, South Carolina–based Fleet Mortgage Corporation from FleetBoston Financial for $660 million (~$1.08 billion in 2023) in cash.[169] The acquisition was completed in June 2001.[170] The result of the Fleet Mortgage acquisition made WaMu the nation's second-largest mortgage-servicing business.

In December 2001, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Jacksonville, Florida-based HomeSide Lending, Inc. from the National Australia Bank for $1.9 billion (~$3.12 billion in 2023). The agreement did not include the mortgage servicing rights and related financial hedges for the business.[171][172] The acquisition was completed in March 2002.[173] In August 2002, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the rest of HomeSide that included the mortgage servicing rights on a mortgage portfolio worth about $131 billion for $1.3 billion in cash and the assumption of $735 million in debt.[174] The acquisition was completed in October 2002.[175]

In July 2002, the San Mateo, California-based Bay View Capital Corporation announced the pending sale of the mortgage loan portfolio for its Bay View Bank subsidiary to WaMu for a "slight premium to book value".[176] The sale was completed in the following month.[177]

In April 2006, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Irvine, California-based Commercial Capital Bancorp, Inc. with its Commercial Capital Bank FSB subsidiary for $983 million (~$1.43 billion in 2023) in cash.[178][179] The acquisition was completed in October 2006.[180] Commercial Capital had specialized in loans for the multifamily and small commercial real estate lending markets and was the third largest multifamily lender in California.

Credit cards edit

In June 2001, WaMu announced the pending acquisition of Providian Financial Corporation, tenth-largest credit-card issuer in the country, for $6.45 billion (~$10.6 billion in 2023) in stock and cash.[181][182] The acquisition was completed in June 2001.

Prior to this acquisition, WaMu had their credit cards initially issued by Associates National Bank[183][184] and later Citibank South Dakota, N.A.[185] and was one of the largest banking organization that did not issue its own credit cards. In 2005, chairman and chief executive officer Kerry Killinger said that lack of company-issued credit cards was a "major hole in our product line."[186] Credit cards were not mentioned on their website nor in their published annual reports as an available service offered by their company prior to 2001.

Rise and fall edit

"Wal-Mart of Banking" edit

Chairman and CEO Kerry Killinger had pledged in 2003: "We hope to do to this industry what Wal-Mart did to theirs, Starbucks did to theirs, Costco did to theirs and Lowe's, Home Depot did to their industry. And I think if we've done our job, five years from now you're not going to call us a bank."[187]

Killinger's goal was to build WaMu into the "Wal-Mart of Banking", which would cater to lower- and middle-class consumers that other banks deemed too risky. Complex mortgages and credit cards had terms that made it easy for the least creditworthy borrowers to get financing, a strategy the bank extended in big cities, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. WaMu pressed sales agents to approve loans while placing less emphasis on borrowers' incomes and assets. WaMu set up a system that enabled real estate agents to collect fees of more than $10,000 for bringing in borrowers. Variable-rate loans – Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages (Option ARMs) in particular – were especially attractive, because they carried higher fees than other loans and allowed WaMu to book profits on interest payments that borrowers deferred. As WaMu was selling many of its loans to investors, it worried less about defaults.[9][187]

Subprime losses edit

 
The WaMu Tower (center right) in downtown Seattle was WaMu's corporate headquarters from 1988 until 2006, when the company moved into the new WaMu Center (center left). These buildings have since been renamed; WaMu Tower is now known as 1201 Third Avenue and WaMu Center is now known as Russell Investments Center.

In December 2007, the subsidiary WaMu Bank reorganized its home-loan division, closing 160 of its 336 home-loan offices and removing 2,600 positions in its home-loan staff (a 22% reduction).[188]

In March 2008, on the same weekend that JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon negotiated the takeover of Bear Stearns, he secretly dispatched members of his team to Seattle to meet with WaMu executives, urging them to consider a quick deal. However, WaMu Chairman and CEO Kerry Killinger rejected JPMorgan Chase's offer that valued WaMu at $8 a share, mostly in stock.[9][187]

In April 2008, the holding company, responding to losses and difficulties sustained as a result of the 2007–2008 subprime mortgage crisis, announced that 3,000 people companywide would lose their jobs, and the company stated its intent to close its approximately 176 remaining stand-alone, home-loan offices, including 23 in Washington and a loan-processing center in Bellevue, Washington. It stopped buying loans from outside mortgage brokers — known in the trade as "wholesale lending." WaMu also announced a $7 billion infusion of new capital by new outside investors led by TPG Capital. TPG agreed to pump $2 billion into the WaMu holding company; other investors, including some of WaMu's current institutional holders, agreed to buy an additional $5 billion in newly issued stock. This angered many investors, as TPG's investment would dilute the holdings of existing shareholders, and as WaMu executives excluded mortgage losses from computing bonuses.[189]

In June 2008, Kerry Killinger stepped down as the chairman, though remaining the Chief Executive Officer.[190] On September 8, 2008, under pressure from investors, the WaMu holding company's board of directors dismissed Killinger as the CEO. Alan H. Fishman, chairman of mortgage broker Meridian Capital Group, and a former chief operating officer of Sovereign Bank, was named the new CEO for 17 days.[191]

Seizure by OTS and FDIC edit

By mid-September 2008, WaMu's share price had closed as low as $2.00 (~$3.00 in 2023). It had been worth over $30.00 in September 2007, and had briefly traded as high as $45 in the previous year.[192] While WaMu publicly insisted it could stay independent, earlier in the month it had quietly hired Goldman Sachs to identify potential bidders. However, several deadlines passed without anyone submitting a bid.[18] At the same time, WaMu suffered a massive run (mostly via electronic banking over the internet and wire transfer [citation needed]); customers pulled out $16.7 billion in deposits in a ten-day span.[193]

This led the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to step up pressure for WaMu to find a buyer, as a takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) could have been a severe drain on the FDIC insurance fund, which had already been hard hit by the failure of IndyMac that year. The FDIC ultimately held a secret auction of WaMu Bank, which was won by JPMorgan Chase. On the morning of Thursday, September 25 (which happened to be the 119th anniversary of WaMu's establishment), regulators informed officials at JPMorgan Chase that they were the winners.[18]

On Thursday night (shortly after the close of business on the West Coast), the Office of Thrift Supervision seized WaMu Bank and placed it into the receivership of the FDIC. In a statement, the OTS said that the massive run meant that WaMu was no longer sound.[193] The FDIC then sold most of WaMu Bank's assets, including the branch network, to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion. JPMorgan Chase agreed to assume the bank's secured debts and liabilities to depositors. The transaction did not require any FDIC insurance funds.[194] Normally, bank seizures take place after the close of business on Fridays. However, due to the bank's deteriorating condition and leaks that a seizure was imminent, regulators felt compelled to act a day early.[18]

Because JPMorgan Chase bought WaMu's assets for a low price, WaMu's stockholders were nearly wiped out. Its stock price dropped to $0.16 a share, well below its high of a year earlier.[192] In its Chapter 11 filing, WaMu listed assets of $33 billion and debt of $8 billion. (ref. Appendix A). The filing also indicates that enough funds are available for distribution to unsecured creditors.

Within days of the seizure, a hedge fund adviser and investment strategist, Mike Stathis of AVA Investment Analytics, issued a formal complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission, demonstrating evidence of insider trading. The complaint also alleged that WaMu was not insolvent, and several Wall Street firms and hedge funds had conspired to short the stock. He also stated that he spoke with a reporter from the Associated Press who told him that he was contacted by a WaMu executive hours before the seizure, telling the reporter that it would happen for "political reasons." In later criticisms, Stathis discussed that neither the FDIC nor OTS ever disclosed any evidence of WaMu's insolvency.[195] Stathis stated that within a few weeks of submitting his complaint, he was visited by federal agents who held him in an interrogation room for questioning. As a result of this, Stathis stated that he felt bullied and did not release the SEC complaint into the public domain until a year later.[196][197]

Shareholders fought what they considered the illegal seizure of WaMu through such websites as WaMuCoup.com [dead link] and others, claiming that the OTS acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and seized the bank for political reasons or for the benefit of JPMorgan Chase, which acquired a large network of branches at what they claim to be an unfairly low price.[198] Shareholders claimed that as of the date of the takeover, the bank had enough liquidity to meet all its obligations and was in compliance with the business plan negotiated with the OTS 2 weeks earlier[199] and that the holding company's board and management was kept completely in the dark about the government's negotiations with Chase, hampering the bank's ability to sell itself on its own. Chief executive Alan H. Fishman was flying from New York to Seattle on the day the bank was closed, and eventually received a $7.5 million sign-on bonus and cash severance of $11.6 million (which he declined) after being CEO for 17 days.[200] Senator Maria Cantwell demanded an explanation from the government and threatened to open an investigation[201] and WaMu's former shareholders have threatened a lawsuit demanding compensation for the lost value of their shares.[199]

The seizure of WaMu Bank resulted in the largest bank failure in American financial history, dwarfing the failure of Continental Illinois in 1984.[18][202][203]

Bankruptcy edit

On September 26, 2008, WaMu, Inc., and its remaining subsidiary, WMI Investment Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[204] WaMu, Inc., was promptly delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and commenced trading via Pink Sheets. The bankruptcy was the second major filing in as many weeks, after the Lehman Brothers filing eleven days earlier; both bankruptcies far outpaced WorldCom's 2002 filing, which had held the record with just under $104 billion (~$168 billion in 2023) in assets (WaMu's alone, which was approximately half that of Lehman Brothers, was three times as much as WorldCom's).

All assets but only some liabilities (including deposits, covered bonds, and other secured debt) of WaMu Bank were assumed by JPMorgan Chase.[205] Under the deal, JPMorgan Chase acquired all the banking operations of WaMu, including $307 billion in assets and $188 billion in deposits, for a price of $1.9 billion plus debt assumptions.[206] Unsecured senior debt obligations of the bank were not assumed by JPMorgan Chase, leaving holders of those obligations with little meaningful source of recovery.[205] On the morning of September 26, WaMu Bank customers were informed that all deposits held by WaMu were now liabilities of JPMorgan Chase.[207]

The IRS claimed $12.5 billion in back taxes from WaMu, Inc. The company filed court papers on January 22, 2009, alleging losses were $20 billion (~$27.6 billion in 2023), and the company requested that it pay nothing of the tax debt, stating that the IRS could owe WaMu Inc. a tax refund.[208] In a 2010 settlement between Wash. Mutual Inc. (in receivership), the FDIC, and JPMorgan Chase, a tax refund of about $5.7 billion (~$7.78 billion in 2023) will be shared between Wash. Mutual Inc., JPMorgan Chase and FDIC.[209]

WaMu, Inc., sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for $13 billion after the sale of its banking operations to JPMorgan Chase.[210] WMI attorneys claim the bank did not get fair value for the bank, and multiple subsidiaries belonging to the parent company were taken.

On January 11, 2010, the United States Department of Justice, Office of the United States Trustee, District of Delaware, pursuant to Section 1102(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code, appointed a Committee of Equity Security Holders to represent all shareholders of both preferred and common stock. All of the Motions to Disband the Committee of Equity Security Holders were denied on January 28, 2010, by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath, District of Delaware.[211][212]

On July 20, 2010, bankruptcy judge Mary Walrath approved a motion of the EC for an examiner to investigate potential legal claims and assets of WMI, handing a victory to shareholders. The Judge directed the examiner to investigate not just the legal settlement with the FDIC and JPMorgan Chase at the heart of WaMu's reorganization, but also all potential claims and assets that are part of the settlement or that will be retained by the company.[213]

On July 26, 2010, U.S. Trustee Roberta A. DeAngelis appointed veteran bankruptcy examiner and McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP partner Joshua R. Hochberg to conduct a probe into the proposed settlement between WMI, JPMorgan Chase and the FDIC. Hochberg is a partner in McKenna Long & Aldridge's Washington office whose practice focuses on individual and corporate white collar defense, internal investigations and compliance.[214]

On August 10, 2010, the bankruptcy judge rejected WaMu Inc.'s effort to obtain personal financial information from shareholders demanding that the company schedule an annual meeting. Attorneys for the EC said that WMI was simply trying to delay scheduling a shareholder meeting by seeking personal information. The judge agreed that WMI was not entitled to the information.[215]

On November 1, 2010, examiner Joshua R. Hochberg from McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP presented his long-awaited report, but it did not meet the expectations of the court, since the report was based on unsworn interviews and confidential attorney-client work. On December 12, the court decided to exclude the examiner's report during the plan confirmation hearings, saying it can't be considered expert testimony or submitted as evidence unless it is subject to questioning to determine the basis of its conclusions.[216]

On January 7, 2011, the bankruptcy court rejected the 6th proposed plan of reorganization, which was proposed by the debtors and their lawyers from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Judge Mary Walrath focused many of her criticisms on the company's releases of liability granted to directors, officers and others including some hedge funds, who she said did not contribute anything to the settlement. She noted for example that shareholders, who will likely get nothing, should not have to release the company's board from the threat of being sued by them.[217]

On September 14, 2011, the court also rejected the modified 6th proposed plan of reorganization. Judge Mary F. Walrath wrote that four hedge funds that had played a role in WaMu's restructuring might have received confidential information that could have been used to trade improperly in the bank's debt. The four hedge funds are Appaloosa Management, Aurelius Capital Management, Centerbridge Partners and Owl Creek Asset Management.[218]

A seventh plan of reorganization was announced in February 2012[219][220] and the company finally emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following month as WMI Holdings Corporation.[221] By 2015, WMI Holdings was able to raise $598 million (~$752 million in 2023) and was looking for new acquisitions.[222]

Post receivership bank operations edit

During 2009, all of the WaMu Bank branches that had been purchased from the FDIC after the bank had been placed into receivership, were rebranded to Chase or shuttered. All financial documents issued by WaMu were changed to carry the Chase logo. Credit and debit cards issued by WaMu or Providian were changed to carry the Chase logo.

The transition to Chase began in early 2009, when Chase ATMs became accessible for WaMu customers at no extra charge. All branches and accounts were formally merged in 2009 as the WaMu brand was retired.[18] Branches in the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, and Utah were rebranded in May 2009; branches in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, and Greater New York were rebranded in July 2009, and the remaining branches in Nevada, California, Arizona, and Colorado were rebranded in October 2009.[223][224] The last rebrandings formally retired the WaMu name.

In markets where Chase already had a dominant presence, such as Greater New York and Chicago (owing to the presence of Chase and predecessor Bank One), Chase further disposed of such branches to other banks. In New York, for instance, the acquisition resulted in Chase branches located on the same block as WaMu branches.[225]

Advertising campaigns edit

"Free Checking Account" edit

This advertising campaign was introduced between 2005 and 2007. Numerous WaMu commercials showed traditionally-dressed 60–70-year-old overweight bankers laughing out loud at a WaMu representative (who is much younger and fitter), who says the words "Free Checking Account".

"The Power of Yes" edit

WaMu introduced an advertising campaign during the 2003 Academy Awards known as "The Power of Yes". This was to promote the offering of loans to all consumers, particularly borrowers that the banks deemed too risky. Another commercial in the ad series showed WaMu representatives in casual clothes, contrasting with traditionally-dressed bankers in suits.

"Whoo hoo" edit

 
A promotional WaMu "Whoo hoo!" bumper sticker.

"Whoo hoo!" was an advertising campaign introduced by WaMu in February 2008. As fears of an economic crisis were rising, and WaMu was looking to become an "iconic brand that people love", they began courting consumers with a new slogan, designed to position WaMu as a consumer-friendly institution.[226]

During its run, the Whoo hoo! ads, created by TBWA\Chiat\Day of Playa del Rey, California,[226] become widespread in web navigation.[227] After WaMu launched the new advertisement, there was double digit growth at its website[227] and the term "wamu" appeared in searches over 1,000% more between January and March than in all of 2007.[227]

WaMu (before the bank's September 2008 conservatorship and sale to JPMorgan Chase) applied to register a trademark in the phrase.[228][229] Initially, the bank wanted to use "woo hoo" (without the "h" in the first word) as the slogan, but they were concerned because of the existing use of the phrase by Homer Simpson, a character in The Simpsons.[228]

Occasio branch design edit

WaMu introduced a unique branch design known as Occasio which eliminated traditional teller windows and queuing stanchions in favor of an open, circular floor plan with a greeter or "concierge" position and tellers working from behind podiums.[230][231] The Occasio design was introduced in 2000 and patented in 2004,[232] but was phased out following the JPMorgan Chase acquisition of WaMu's retail banking operations.[233]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Bansal, Paritosh (September 26, 2008). . DealZone. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d . Washington Mutual Bank. Archived from the original on November 16, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  3. ^ "WMI HOLDINGS CORP. 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. March 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "WMI HOLDINGS CORP. 2012 Q3 Quarterly Report Form (10-Q)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. November 8, 2013.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c (Press release). Office of Thrift Supervision. September 25, 2008. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e Levy, Ari & Hester, Elizabeth (September 26, 2008). . Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  8. ^ Shen, Linda (September 26, 2008). . Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c Dash, Eric (April 7, 2008). "$5 Billion Said to Be Near for WaMu". The New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  10. ^ Rubbery, William. "OTS Fact Sheet on Washington Mutual Bank" (PDF). Stanford Edu.
  11. ^ Zarroli, Jim (September 26, 2008). "Washington Mutual Collapses". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Grind, Kirstin (December 27, 2009). "Washington Mutual's final days — The deal". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  14. ^ Racki, Troy (February 10, 2010). "WaMu Equity Makes Case Via YouTube". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  15. ^ Letzing, John. "WaMu seized, sold to J.P. Morgan Chase". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  16. ^ a b Chasan, Emily & Maler, Sandra (September 27, 2008). "WaMu files bankruptcy petition in Delaware". Reuters. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  17. ^ a b Reich, John M. (September 25, 2008). (PDF) (Report). Office of Thrift Supervision. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  18. ^ a b c d e f 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.
  19. ^ (Report). Securities and Exchange Commission. May 22, 2008. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  20. ^ (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.
  21. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (March 21, 2009). "Washington Mutual sues FDIC for over $13 billion". Reuters. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  22. ^ "JPMorgan to buy WaMu - Sep. 25, 2008". money.cnn.com. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  23. ^ a b (PDF). Office of Thrift Supervision. September 25, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  24. ^ "JPMorgan Chase Acquires Banking Operations of Washington Mutual: FDIC Facilitates Transaction that Protects All Depositors and Comes at No Cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund" (Press release). Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  25. ^ Sidel, Robin; Enrich, David & Fitzpatrick, Dan (September 26, 2008). "WaMu Is Seized, Sold Off to J.P. Morgan, In Largest Failure in U.S. Banking History". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2008. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  26. ^ "Timeline Washington Mutual: A long history". The Seattle Times. September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
  27. ^ . Wall Street Journal. April 22, 1982. p. 48. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. Washington Mutual Savings Bank of Seattle, said it has purchased Murphey-Favre Inc., a brokerage firm in Spokane. for cash. The amount wasn't disclosed. Washington Mutual is the state's largest mutual savings bank. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  28. ^ "Briefs; Debt Issues". New York Times. February 19, 1983. p. I40. Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it filed a preliminary offering with the Supervisor of Banking covering the offering of common shares as it converts from a mutual to a stock savings bank, through underwriters led by Salomon Brothers. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  29. ^ "Briefs". New York Times. March 11, 1983. p. D7. Washington Mutual Savings Bank's offering of 2.8 million common shares was priced at $12.50 a share, through Salomon Brothers. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  30. ^ "Washington Mutual Assumes New Holding-Company Name". Seattle Times. November 30, 1994.
  31. ^ Ehrlich, Bill (November 30, 1994). "Washington Mutual completes reorganization to holding company structure". PR Newswire (Press release). p. 1. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger today announced the completion of the reorganization of Washington Mutual Savings Bank into a holding company structure. The new financial services holding company is called Washington Mutual, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAMU)... In the reorganization, all outstanding shares of Washington Mutual Savings Bank stock were converted to shares of stock of Washington Mutual, Inc. Washington Mutual's common stock will continue to be reported on the Nasdaq National Market under the stock symbol "WAMU." Also as part of the reorganization, Washington Mutual Savings Bank has become Washington Mutual Bank, a subsidiary of Washington Mutual, Inc... Washington Mutual, Inc. is a holding company for both banking and nonbanking subsidiaries. These organizations provide consumer banking, full service securities brokerage, mutual fund management, travel and insurance underwriting services. At Sept. 30, 1994, the predecessor of Washington Mutual, Inc. had consolidated assets of $17.8 billion and operated more than 250 financial centers and home loan centers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  32. ^ . Wall Street Journal. December 1, 1994. p. A3. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it formed a holding company named Washington Mutual Inc. Shares outstanding of the thrift institution were converted into shares of the new company. The name of the company's main banking subsidiary has been changed to Washington Mutual Bank. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  33. ^ . AllBusiness.com (Press release). February 1, 2001. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008.
  34. ^ "UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS CENTRAL DIVISION" (PDF). Gov Info.
  35. ^ . Wall Street Journal. April 15, 1983. p. 14. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it signed a letter of intent to buy three branches from United Mutual Savings Bank, also of Tacoma, for $3,250,000. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  36. ^ "Bank Merger Set". New York Times. April 21, 1984. p. 1.28. An agreement has been reached for the Washington Mutual Savings Bank of Seattle to acquire the Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank of Spokane, Wash., the companies said... Two Lincoln branches, in Bellevue and Kent, Wash., will be sold to United Bank of Tacoma, Wash., for an estimated $4.5 million. Washington Mutual, which went public last year, is the third largest financial institution in the state, with assets of $3.4 billion. Lincoln has assets of $480 million. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  37. ^ . Wall Street Journal. April 23, 1984. p. 1. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it agreed to merge with Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank of Spokane, Wash... Washington Mutual has about 1,000 employees and 39 branches, mostly in western Washington. Lincoln currently employs about 170 and has 16 branches mostly in eastern Washington. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  38. ^ Ramsey, Bruce (May 18, 1987). "Washington Mutual to Buy Wenatchee Bank for $40 Million". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B10. Washington Mutual Savings Bank announced Saturday that it has reached a definitive agreement to buy Columbia Federal Savings Bank of Wenatchee for about $40 million.
  39. ^ a b Heberlein, Greg (May 18, 1987). "Washington Mutual Buys Seattle, Wenatchee Banks". Seattle Times. p. C11. Faster than you can say mergers and acquisitions, Washington Mutual Savings Bank added two new friends of the family. The state's third-largest financial institution, which keys its advertising off the friends of the family theme, in less than 48 hours said it was acquiring both Wenatchee-based Columbia Federal Savings Bank and north Seattle's Shoreline Savings Bank... Washington Mutual has 50 branches. Shoreline operates 15 branches, Columbia Federal has 12. An earlier agreement in which Shoreline would sell three branches to Washington Mutual was vetoed by regulators, ostensibly because it would have further weakened the ailing institution. The Columbia Federal acquisition would give Washington Mutual its first significant presence in Central Washington. It obtained a strong Eastern Washington foothold in 1985 when it acquired Spokane-based Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank.
  40. ^ Gapay, Les (May 19, 1987). "Washington Mutual Will Buy Shoreline". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B6. Washington Mutual Savings Bank continued its acquisition spree yesterday by agreeing to buy Shoreline Savings Bank for about $7.5 million. Washington Mutual on Saturday reached an agreement to buy Columbia Federal Savings Bank of Wenatchee for about $40 million. Washington Mutual, the third largest financial institution in Washington state with $5.6 billion in assets, said the Shoreline deal would give it branches in areas where it wants to increase its presence. Shoreline has 15 branches in the North Puget Sound area including Seattle. In addition, the Columbia Federal deal would add $384 million in assets and the Shoreline purchase $396 million in assets to Washington Mutual.
  41. ^ "Washington Mutual - Two Recent Purchases - to Merge Into One Bank". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. April 29, 1988. p. C5. Washington Mutual Savings Bank today will merge two recent acquisitions, Columbia Federal Savings Bank and Shoreline Savings Bank, to form a new subsidiary. The new subsidiary will operate under the Columbia Federal Savings Bank name, but Shoreline signs will remain at former Shoreline branches for an indefinite period, officials said. Joseph Evans, a Columbia senior vice president, was named president of the new 26-branch subsidiary. Deposits will be insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. After the merger, Washington Mutual Financial Group will have 76 branches, which can be used by customers of Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Columbia Federal. Washington Mutual's assets will increase to $6.2 billion from $5.5 billion. The Seattle-based savings bank paid about $39 million, or $17.53 a share, for Columbia Federal, and $7.5 million, or $5 a share, for Shoreline.
  42. ^ Bilotti, Armand G.; Holbrook, Robert B. & Izzi, Louis R. Jr. (January 25, 1990). "Old Stone Completes Agreement to Sell Washington Retail Division to Washington Mutual Savings Bank". Business Wire (Press release). p. 1. Old Stone Corp. Thursday announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell its Washington state retail division, Old Stone Bank of Washington, to Washington Mutual, a Federal Savings Bank. Originally named Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association, Old Stone Bank of Washington was acquired with federal assistance by Old Stone Corp. at the end of the 1985. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  43. ^ "Washington Mutual to Buy Old Stone State Subsidiary". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. January 26, 1990. p. C4. Washington Mutual Savings Bank announced yesterday it has agreed to purchase Old Stone Bank of Washington, a subsidiary of Old Stone Corp. of Providence, R.I.. In addition, Washington Mutual will acquire all seven Seattle/Tacoma area branch offices of Old Stone. The Rhode Island bank moved into the area in 1985 when it bought money-losing Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association and renamed it Old Stone Bank of Washington.
  44. ^ "Bank To Acquire Old Stone Branches". Seattle Times. April 7, 1990.
  45. ^ Lane, Polly (December 30, 1985). "Old Stone Buys Citizens Federal". Seattle Times. p. D9.
  46. ^ Lane, Polly (December 31, 1985). "FSLIC Helps Rhode Island Firm Buy Citizens". Seattle Times. p. D3.
  47. ^ . Wall Street Journal. December 31, 1985. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. The Federal Home Loan Bank Board approved the acquisition of ailing Citizens Savings & Loan Association, Seattle, by Old Stone Corp., a Providence, R.I., thrift holding company. Citizens, a mutual thrift with $477.4 million in assets, was converted to a federally chartered stock savings bank, Old Stone Bank of Washington, effective yesterday. Old Stone Corp. has $3.7 billion in assets. To enable the takeover to occur, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. will give the new savings bank some cash and indemnify it from certain liabilities and "possible litigation resulting from the acquisition," a Bank Board spokesman said. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  48. ^ Bilotti, Armand G. & Izzi, Louis R. Jr. (May 31, 1990). "Old Stone Completes Sale of Washington Branch Network". Business Wire (Press release). p. 1. Old Stone Corp. Thursday announced it has completed the sale of its Washington state retail division, Old Stone Bank of Washington, to Washington Mutual, a federal savings bank, a subsidiary of Seattle-based Washington Mutual Savings Bank, for a pre-tax gain of approximately $10 million. Old Stone and Washington Mutual reached a definitive purchase agreement on January 25, 1990, and received regulatory approval for the sale from the Office of Thrift Supervision on April 6, 1990. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  49. ^ "U.S. Bank Old Stone Bank Sale Completion Announced". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. June 2, 1990. p. B6. Old Stone Corp. said it has completed the sale of its Washington state retail division, Old Stone Bank of Washington, to Washington Mutual for about $10 million... In 1985, Old Stone acquired the troubled bank, which was formerly the Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association.
  50. ^ "Frontier Federal A Deal With Washington Mutual". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. June 23, 1990. p. B6. Washington Mutual yesterday paid $2.3 million to federal regulators to acquire portions of Frontier Federal Savings and Loan Association in eastern Washington... Frontier's branches in Walla Walla, Pullman, Kennewick, Richland and Dayton will open under Washington Mutual's management on Monday. Resolution Trust Corp. had managed Frontier since it went into receivership on Feb. 23.
  51. ^ "Washington Mutual Acquisitions to Open". Seattle Times. June 25, 1990. p. C7. Frontier Federal Savings & Loan Association offices in Eastern Washington will open today as branches of Washington Mutual. Washington Mutual acquired Frontier Federal Friday from the Resolution Trust Corp. for about $1.8 million, once accounting adjustments were made. The RTC had managed Frontier Federal since it went into receivership Feb. 23. Two of the former Frontier branches are in Walla Walla. Others are in Pullman, Kennewick, Richland and Dayton. The Seattle-based federal savings bank will assume Frontier's deposit liabilities of about $91.5 million. Assets include its consumer loan portfolio, options to purchase branch facilities and its residential loan portfolio.
  52. ^ MacKenzie, Bill (September 15, 1990). "Buyers Pick Segments Of Utah Thrift". The Oregonian. p. E01. Utah-based Williamsburg Federal Savings and Loan Association... The deal, involving three financial institutions, was announced Friday night by the federal Resolution Trust Corp... Washington Mutual Savings Bank, also of Seattle, bought Williamsburg's three Washington branches for $1.3 million
  53. ^ a b Lane, Polly (November 12, 1990). "Washington Mutual To Buy Savings Bank In Vancouver". Seattle Times.
  54. ^ "Vanfed Purchase Completed Yesterday". Seattle Times. August 1, 1991. p. C6. Washington Mutual Savings Bank's $23.3 million acquisition of VanFed Bancorp was completed late yesterday. VanFed shareholders will receive $19 a share, the companies said. Vancouver, Wash.-based VanFed operates seven branches in the Clark County area.
  55. ^ a b c "Washington Mutual Completes S&L Buy". Seattle Times. November 11, 1991.
  56. ^ a b "Sound Savings To Merge". Seattle Times. August 9, 1991.
  57. ^ "Washington Mutual Completes S&L Buy". Seattle Times. January 3, 1992. p. F1. Washington Mutual said yesterday it has completed its acquisition of Sound Savings and Loan Association of Seattle. The merger was effective as of Wednesday.
  58. ^ Heberlein, Greg (September 20, 1991). "Washington Mutual to Buy GNW". Seattle Times. p. D8. The acquisitive Washington Mutual Savings Bank jumped back in the marketplace today, announcing a $64 million cash-and-stock deal for the parent of Bremerton-based Great Northwest Bank. The state's largest residential lender, with assets of $7 billion, said it plans to pay about $24.60 a share for GNW Financial, which has about $700 million in assets.
  59. ^ Bill Virgin, P-I Reporter (September 21, 1991). "Washington Mutual Plans Another Buy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B4. Washington Mutual Savings Bank plans to buy Great Northwest Bank of Bremerton, and the chairman of the Seattle thrift says his institution's appetite for acquisitions isn't sated yet. The cash-and-stock takeover of Great Northwest's parent, GNW Financial Corp., for $64 million was announced yesterday and is the seventh acquisition by Washington Mutual during 1990 and 1991... Last year, Washington Mutual, the state's largest thrift, signed deals for VanFed BanCorp, the Washington branches of Old Stone Bank, Frontier Federal Savings and Loan in Walla Walla and three offices of Williamsburg Savings and Loan. This year, Washington Mutual has agreed to buy Washington and Oregon branches of CrossLand Savings and Sound Savings and Loan of Seattle.
  60. ^ "Washington Mutual Completes Bremerton Thrift Buyout". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. April 2, 1992. p. B4. Washington Mutual Savings Bank completed its purchase of GNW Financial Corp. yesterday and said it will close three of the Bremerton thrift's branches and one of its own. Seattle-based Washington Mutual said the four branches, two in Tacoma and one each in Seattle and Spokane, will be combined with nearby branches. The four branches will be closed June 19. GNW subsidiary Great Northwest Bank had 119 employees working at its 17 branches.
  61. ^ "Washington Mutual Buys World Offices". Seattle Times. December 19, 1991. p. E3. ashington Mutual Savings Bank has agreed to buy two Snohomish County branches of World Savings and Loan Association of America, a subsidiary of Golden West Financial Corp. of Oakland, Calif. The two branches, in Lynnwood and Everett, account for all of World's Washington business.
  62. ^ "Washington Mutual Expands Holdings". Seattle Times. March 7, 1992. p. A16. Washington Mutual Savings Bank yesterday completed the acquisition of about $40 million of deposits at World Savings and Loan Association's Washington branches in Everett and Lynnwood. Its subsidiary, Washington Mutual, a Federal Savings Bank, will continue operations at the two locations. All branch employees were offered continuing employment with Washington Mutual. World Savings retains ownership of its loan centers in Lynnwood and Bellevue. With assets of $7.1 billion, Washington Mutual has $7.1 billion in assets and operates a total of 104 financial centers and 18 home-loan centers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
  63. ^ Fysh, Graham (August 21, 1992). "Washington Mutual to Buy Pioneer for $181 Million". Tacoma News-Tribune. p. C9. Seattle's Washington Mutual Savings Bank continues to expand by gobbling up competitors in the Puget Sound region. The bank announced late Thursday that it has agreed to buy Pioneer Savings Bank of Lynnwood in a stock-swap deal valued at $181 million... The buyout - which is likely to be completed early next year after federal and shareholder approval - comes less than a year after Washington Mutual's $64 million purchase of Bremerton-based Great Northwest Savings Bank, which added 17 branches. Washington Mutual has also acquired two smaller savings and loan banks this year, which added three new branches. The savings bank's 123 branches would increase to 141 if the Pioneer deal goes through.
  64. ^ . PR Newswire (Press release). August 20, 1992. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017 – via The Free Library.
  65. ^ Flores, Himanee Gupta; Michele Matassa (August 21, 1992). "Pioneer Savings to Be Acquired - Washington Mutual Deal Worth $181 Million". Seattle Times. p. D7. All but one of Pioneer's 17 branches are in King and Snohomish... Washington Mutual has 53 locations in King and Snohomish counties, slightly less than half of its total 118 financial centers and 18 home-loan centers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  66. ^ "Washington Mutual completes takeover of Pioneer Bank". United Press International. March 1, 1993.
  67. ^ Heberlein, Greg (October 27, 1992). "Washington Mutual To Buy Bank—Washington Mutual Wins Bid For Pacific First". Seattle Times. In one of the Pacific Northwest's biggest financial transactions of its kind, Washington Mutual Savings Bank said today it won the sweepstakes to take control of Pacific First Financial Corp., parent company to Pacific First Bank. The move will make Washington Mutual the second-largest financial institution in Washington and give it a huge initial presence in Oregon. Washington Mutual said it will pay $663 million for the rival institution - both have Seattle headquarters. After the deal is done next May or June, Washington Mutual will be second in size here only to Seafirst Bank. Just three years ago, then publicly held Pacific First was acquired by Royal Trustco of Toronto, Canada, for $212 million. But since then, Royal Trustco has run into problems elsewhere, and decided to abandon its strategy to string branches along the West Coast of the United States. It put Pacific First up for bid.
  68. ^ "Washington Mutual buying Pacific First". Kitsap Sun. October 27, 1992. Washington Mutual Savings Bank has signed a definitive agreement to buy Pacific First Bank from Canada's Royal Trustco Ltd. for $663 million, the companies announced today. Washington Mutual will acquire Pacific First Financial Corp., the holding company for the federal savings bank, from RT Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Trustco. After approval by regulators, the deal is expected to close in mid 1993.
  69. ^ a b c Virgin, Bill (October 28, 1992). "Washington Mutual Plans to Buy Pacific First Bank". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B5. Washington Mutual Savings Bank will buy Pacific First Bank in a deal that cements its position as one of the three leading financial institutions in the Pacific Northwest. It also brings to a somewhat messy and expensive end a foray into the American banking market by Royal Trustco Ltd. of Toronto, parent of Pacific First. While Royal Trustco is giving up its dream of building an American banking empire anchored in Seattle, it will be stuck with hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate loans that are in default or heading that way. And the $663 million acquisition of Pacific First Financial Corp. marks the third major upheaval of banking in Washington in a year, which will mean more sign changes, building closures and potential layoffs for employees. Washington Mutual already has $8.4 billion in assets and 118 branches and 17 loan centers in Washington and Oregon. Pacific First has assets of $6.9 billion, 127 branches in Washington, Oregon and California and eight mortgage offices. It previously agreed to trade its 10 California branches for Great Western Bank's 14 Washington branches. Once the Pacific First deal is completed, Washington Mutual will have assets of about $14 billion... Pacific First is merely the latest in a series of acquisitions Washington Mutual has made in the last few years, including Pioneer Savings in Lynnwood, Great Northwest in Bremerton and VanFed in Vancouver. With Pacific First's branches, Washington Mutual's share of consumer deposits in Washington will be 17.2 percent, ahead of KeyCorp-Puget Sound with 10.3 percent and trailing only Seafirst at 20.4 percent, Tejera said. In Oregon, Washington Mutual will become the fourth biggest in consumer deposits.
  70. ^ "Washington Mutual acquires Pacific First". United Press International. April 12, 1993. Washington Mutual Savings Bank announced the acquisition Monday of Pacific First Financial Corp. and its Seattle- based subsidiary, Pacific First Bank, for an undisclosed sum from RT Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Toronto's Royal Trustco Ltd.
  71. ^ Acohido, Byron (June 14, 1994). "Summit Merging With Washington Mutual". Seattle Times.
  72. ^ . PR Newswire (Press release). November 15, 1994. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via The Free Library.
  73. ^ "Washington Mutual To Buy Enterprise—Aim Of Deal: Tiny Bank's Commercial Charter". Seattle Times. June 2, 1995.
  74. ^ . PR Newswire (Press release). June 2, 1995. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via The Free Library.
  75. ^ Virgin, Bill (June 3, 1995). "Washington Mutual to Buy All Of Enterprise - Combination Is Good for Both Sides, Executives Say". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B4. Washington Mutual Bank plans to acquire the 90 percent of Bellevue's Enterprise Bank it doesn't already own, completing a somewhat unusual alliance of a big thrift institution dealing mainly with consumers and a small commercial bank whose focus is business... Enterprise has one office and assets of about $135 million, compared with 260 offices and $19.1 billion for Washington Mutual... Enterprise will operate under Washington Mutual's state savings bank charter but as a separate organization and under its current name.
  76. ^ "Washington Mutual Buys 25 Branches". Seattle Times. April 15, 1991.
  77. ^ "Crossland Savings". New York Times. February 20, 1987.
  78. ^ Sorensen, Donald J. (November 9, 1987). "Weak Thrifts Still Face Hard Times". The Oregonian. p. D09. CrossLand, which acquired Western Savings Association this year...
  79. ^ Sorensen, Donald J. (December 15, 1988). "Crossland Savings Plans Bank Branches In NW Safeway Stores". The Oregonian. p. F15. CrossLand Savings on Wednesday announced plans to install full-service banking branches in Safeway stores in Oregon and Washington. The agreement calls for branches to be installed in 20 stores in the Portland-Vancouver area and eight in the Eugene-Springfield section of the state. The first branches are scheduled to open March 1 in the Safeway store in Raleigh Hills and one in the Esplanade mall in Hillsboro, according to Christopher J. Sumner, president of the savings bank. All will be operating by December 1990, the savings bank said... CrossLand has seven full-service branches in the Portland metropolitan area that were picked up when it acquired Western Savings.
  80. ^ Sorensen, Donald J. (December 16, 1988). "Tacoma Thrift Acquires Two S&Ls". The Oregonian. p. C01. Federal regulators Thursday announced the acquisition of insolvent savings and loans in Salem and Vancouver, Wash., by Pacific First Financial Corp. of Tacoma. The insolvent institutions are American Home Savings Bank of Salem and Community First Federal Savings. Both have been under federal supervision for more than a year and have substantial negative net worth. The two thrifts were closed by regulators Thursday and will open under Pacific First ownership Friday where business will be conducted without interruption. The institutions were acquired through a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific First Federal Savings Bank and will be operated as Pacific First Bank... The twin acquisition will expand Pacific First's operations in Oregon and the Portland market. It already has 11 branches in Portland and Eugene, and it will pick up nine more from Community in the Portland area and 17 American Home offices in the mid-Willamette Valley. It will also get seven Community branches in the Vancouver area.
  81. ^ MacKenzie, Bill (December 1, 1990). "Willamette S&L Closure Costs 150 Jobs". The Oregonian. p. D01. When Pacific First Financial Corp. shuts down the last remnant of the former Willamette Savings and Loan Dec. 7, it will have laid off about 150 former Willamette employees. At the time Seattle-based Pacific First acquired Willamette in June from the federal Resolution Trust Corp.
  82. ^ MacKenzie, Bill (February 22, 1991). "Pacific First Tops Oregon Thrifts". The Oregonian. p. E15. Pacific First Bank, a Seattle-based thrift, has quietly become the largest holder of deposits among all thrifts operating in Oregon. It also operates 78 branches in Oregon, more than any other thrift. Its rise has been due, in part, to turmoil in the thrift industry that has led to deposit declines at competitors and the shift of one large thrift to a bank. Pacific First had $1.1 billion in deposits at its Oregon branches at the end of 1989. A year later, deposits had grown to $2.3 billion. It now holds about 27 percent of the thrift market in Oregon and about 9 percent of the combined thrift and bank market. The next-largest Oregon thrift is Far West Federal Bank with $1.3 billion in deposits... Pacific First has been serving Oregonians since 1936, but it had only a few branches until December 1988, when it bought 17 branches of Salem-based American Home Savings. One year later the thrift was acquired by Toronto, Canada-based Royal Trustco, Canada's largest trust company, which injected $100 million of capital into the thrift and set it on an aggressive expansion course. Pacific First acquired the 45 branches of Willamette Savings and Loan in June and added the 12 Oregon branches of the Williamsburg Federal Savings and Loan Association in September. Some recently acquired branches have been closed, leaving the thrift with 78 Oregon branches spread throughout the state, but principally in the Portland metropolitan area and the Willamette Valley.
  83. ^ Ellis, Barnes C. (July 26, 1992). "Parent Company Considers Selling Pacific First Bank". The Oregonian. p. C03. The Canadian parent corporation of Pacific First Financial Corp. is considering selling the savings bank in a move that could affect employees in 71 Oregon branches. Royal Trustco Ltd. of Toronto is "holding discussions with a number of financial institutions," Pacific First announced in a statement from the bank's Seattle headquarters.
  84. ^ "RTC Sells Most Assets Of Far West". Seattle Times. April 18, 1994.
  85. ^ Lane, Polly & Heberlein, Greg (October 12, 1995). "Wash. Mutual To Buy Bank—Purchase Of Western Bank Will Expand Oregon Holdings". Seattle Times. Washington Mutual Inc. said today it will expand its presence in Oregon by acquiring Western Bank of Coos Bay, the second-largest independent commercial bank in the Northwest, after U.S. Bancorp. Western Bank, which operates 41 offices in 33 Oregon communities, had assets of $780.1 million at the end of September.
  86. ^ "Washington Mutual Buys Oregon Bank". The Spokesman-Review. October 13, 1995.
  87. ^ Virgin, Bill (October 13, 1995). "Washington Mutual to Buy Oregon Bank - Acquisition Adds 41 Offices And Increases Reach Into Commercial Banking Market". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. D1. In a deal that will both expand it geographically and diversify its lines of business, Washington Mutual Inc. said yesterday it has an agreement to buy Western Bank of Coos Bay, Ore... Western Bank has 41 offices in 33 Oregon communities, so the acquisition will add to Washington Mutual's 72 branches in that state. It also adds 20 towns Washington Mutual isn't already in. Washington Mutual is already the leading residential real estate lender in Oregon. But the deal also increases Washington Mutual's reach into the commercial banking market. Washington Mutual has traditionally emphasized the thrift business, which means home mortgage and consumer loans. Western, being a commercial bank, focuses on lending to small- and medium-sized businesses. Commercial banking is a business Washington Mutual has been increasingly interested in. Last month it wrapped up a deal to acquire the 90 percent of Bellevue's Enterprise Bank it didn't already own. Like Enterprise, Western Bank will continue to operate under its existing name and management.
  88. ^ Manning, Jeff (October 14, 1995). "Seattle Thrift Says It Will Buy Western". The Oregonian. p. C07. Washington Mutual Inc. said it intends to acquire Coos Bay-based Western Bank for between $144 million and $169 million. If it completes its surprise purchase, Washington Mutual will jump past Bank of America and Key Bank to become the third-largest bank in Oregon in both deposits, $2.6 billion, and the number of branches, 114... Most of Western's 41 branches are in Southern Oregon. It has only a single branch in the metropolitan area, in Beaverton. Washington Mutual, on the other hand, has 42 branches in and around Portland.
  89. ^ a b "Washington Mutual Deal For Oregon Bank Completed". Seattle Times. February 1, 1996. Washington Mutual, principally a savings-bank company, says it has completed the acquisition of Western Bank of Coos Bay, Ore., a commercial bank... Western will be part of Washington Mutual's commercial banking group. Western has 42 offices in 35 Oregon communities. Its assets total $787 million.
  90. ^ a b Goldfield, Robert (June 3, 2001). "Wamu to scrap Western Bank brand". Portland Business Journal.
  91. ^ Stiles, Greg (November 7, 2001). . Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017. Western Bank, once a model of community banking, will disappear from the state's landscape this weekend. Workers are changing signs at 30 of the bank's remaining 31 branches. The branches will close Friday and re-open Tuesday as Washington Mutual offices. The exception is the 300 E. Main St. branch in Medford that will be abandoned.
  92. ^ "Klamath First buys Western Bank branches". Portland Business Journal. May 29, 2001.
  93. ^ Linker, Ray (September 27, 2001). "Klamath First Opens Doors In La Grande". La Grande Observer.
  94. ^ "Washington Mutual Plans Inroads Into Southwest Idaho". Seattle Times. March 11, 1994. p. E4. Washington Mutual will expand into Southwest Idaho, as its federal savings bank subsidiary builds the Boise area's first full-service bank branches inside Fred Meyer stores.
  95. ^ "Washington Mutual Plans Boise Offices". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 11, 1994. p. E5. Washington Mutual Savings Bank said yesterday it plans to open a loan office and three in-store branches in the Boise area this year, its first venture into that market. Seattle-based Washington Mutual already operates 68 in-store locations in Washington and Oregon, in addition to 162 free-standing branches. The Idaho branches will open in July and August and will be located in Fred Meyer stores.
  96. ^ . PR Newswire (Press release). March 10, 1994. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017 – via The Free Library.
  97. ^ Neurath, Peter (July 29, 1994). "Bag a loan with your groceries! Opportunities aplenty". Puget Sound Business Journal. Vol. 15, no. 11. p. 20. Washington Mutual Savings Bank recently opened two in-store Boise branches and plans to open a third early next month, all inside Fred Meyer stores. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  98. ^ "Business On The Move". Lewiston Morning Tribune. February 26, 1995. Washington Mutual will open its new Moscow Financial Center Monday inside the Rosauers grocery at 409 N. Main St... The Moscow bank is the Seattle-based company's first venture into northern Idaho, although it has three other branches in the state.
  99. ^ a b "Meanwhile, in Utah ...". Salt Lake Tribune. January 17, 1997. p. B4. Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, Wednesday completed its acquisition of United Western Financial Group Inc. of Salt Lake City. Plans to acquire the privately held company and its subsidiaries, which include United Savings Bank and Western Mortgage Loan Corp., were announced in early September. The final purchase price, paid in cash, was approximately $79.5 million. Conversion of deposit accounts is expected to take place around midyear, with loan accounts to follow. United Savings Bank operated nine branches, seven of them in the Salt Lake City area. The other two offices are in St. George and Idaho Falls.
  100. ^ Carlson, Brad (March 27, 2000). "WAMU grows via stand-alone branches". The Idaho Business Review. Vol. 19, no. 21. p. A1. Among big banks serving southwest Idaho, Seattle-based Washington Mutual seems unique in that it is growing the old-fashioned way - by constructing standalone branch offices... In the early 1990s, Washington Mutual entered the southwest Idaho market with branches inside area Fred Meyer grocery and department stores... WAMU has nine offices of various types in the Boise area. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  101. ^ Nance, Jesse (June 18, 2009). "Washington Mutual locations convert to Chase branches". Idaho Press Tribune.
  102. ^ "Washington Mutual to Buy Olympus Capital". New York Times. July 26, 1994.
  103. ^ Virgin, Bill (July 26, 1994). "Bank Gets Toehold In Utah - Washington Mutual Buys Olympus Capital". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B6. Washington Mutual Savings Bank said yesterday it is joining the parade of banks and thrifts marching into Utah by buying an eight-office company in the Beehive State. Along with the acquisition come two branches in Butte, Mont., another new state for Washington Mutual. But Chairman Kerry Killinger said he doesn't know yet whether Washington Mutual will keep, expand or sell that operation. Washington Mutual will pay about $52.1 million in stock for Olympus Capital Corp., the holding company for Olympus Bank. The deal should be closed by early 1995. Olympus operates five branches in Salt Lake City, two in Ogden and one in Provo.
  104. ^ "Washington Mutual Absorbs Olympus". The Spokesman-Review. May 2, 1995.
  105. ^ "Washington Mutual To Buy Utah Savings Bank". Seattle Times. March 2, 1996.
  106. ^ "Washington Mutual Acquires Utah Federal Savings". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 2, 1996. p. B3. Washington Mutual Inc. said it has signed an agreement to acquire Utah Federal Savings Bank, based in Ogden. Utah Federal, with $122.6 million in assets, has five branches and three loan offices. Washington Mutual already has 16 branches and one loan office in the state, having moved into Utah in 1995. Washington Mutual didn't give a purchase price for Utah Federal, which isn't a publicly traded company.
  107. ^ "Wash. Mutual Completes Utah Federal Savings Deal". Seattle Times. December 2, 1996. p. E6. Washington Mutual said it completed the acquisition of Ogden-based Utah Federal Savings Bank... Washington Mutual acquired the Utah bank for $43.79 a share, or $15.2 million. With Utah Federal, Washington Mutual operates 19 branches and four home-loan centers in Utah.
  108. ^ "Washington Mutual To Buy Utah's United Savings Bank". Seattle Times. September 9, 1996.
  109. ^ "Washington Mutual to Buy United Western Financial". New York Times. September 10, 1996.
  110. ^ . Deseret News. September 10, 1996. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  111. ^ "Washington Mutual to Buy Western Financial In Utah". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 10, 1996. p. B9. Washington Mutual Inc. said it will add to its branch network in Utah with the acquisition of Western Financial Group Inc. of Salt Lake City for $80.3 million in cash. Western Financial is the parent of United Savings Bank, with eight branches in Utah and one in Idaho, and Western Mortgage Loan, with seven offices in Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Montana. Washington Mutual, with 16 offices already in Utah, also has a deal pending to acquire Utah Federal Savings in Ogden. It said completing both deals would make Washington Mutual one of the largest residential mortgage lenders in the state.
  112. ^ "Glacier Bancorp, Inc. and Mountain West Bank to Merge". PR Newswire (Press release). September 10, 1999. Glacier previously announced a definitive agreement to acquire two branches in Butte, Montana from Washington Mutual Bank. That deal is expected to close in October of 1999 and will add approximately $80 million in deposits.
  113. ^ . Glacier Bancorp, Inc. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  114. ^ Vrana, Debora & Granelli, James S. (July 23, 1996). "American Savings Sold to Seattle Thrift". Los Angeles Times.
  115. ^ Hansell, Saul (July 23, 1996). "Washington Mutual Plans Expansion Into California". New York Times.
  116. ^ Heberlein, Greg (July 22, 1996). "State Bank Goes Big Time—Washington Mutual To Acquire California Bank". Seattle Times.
  117. ^ Virgin, Bill (July 23, 1996). "Buyout to Double The Size Of Washington Mutual". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B4. In an acquisition that will virtually double the size of the savings bank the day it is completed, Seattle-based Washington Mutual said it will acquire Keystone Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary, American Savings Bank of Irvine, Calif., in a stock deal worth about $1.4 billion, based on yesterday's closing price... In addition, because American's loan portfolio is heavily weighted toward adjustable rate mortgages, the acquisition helps Washington Mutual reduce its vulnerability to interest rate swings... The third attraction for investors is the presence of billionaire investor Robert Bass, who bought into American Savings when it was taken over by the government and reorganized in 1988. "He assures me he has totally bought into the business plan. We believe he will be a good long-term shareholder," Killinger said of Bass. Bass will name two additional members to Washington Mutual's board, although Killinger said it's not likely Bass himself will serve... Washington Mutual, already at $22 million in assets, will grow to more than $42 million. It already operates 248 branches in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho and Montana. American Savings will add 158 branches in California... A new shareholder in Washington Mutual will be the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which as part of the bailout of American holds about a third of the company. The FDIC is expected to sell those shares.
  118. ^ a b Adamson, Deborah (July 23, 1996). "American Savings Merging - Washington Mutual to Strengthen Coastal Presence With Deal". Los Angeles Daily News. p. B1. Washington Mutual Inc., a Seattle financial services firm, said Monday it will buy American Savings Bank and its parent company in a stock for stock transaction worth $3.5 billion. Irvine-based American Savings Bank will keep its name, and officials said they expect all branches to remain open, officials said... Washington Mutual, which owns a network of banks, is the No. 1 residential mortgage originator in Washington and Oregon. American Savings is California's second largest home-mortgage originator. The deal gives Washington Mutual its first presence in California, allowing an immediate foothold in key locations that will solidify its West Coast position... Robert M. Bass and his investor group control Keystone Holdings Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, the parent company of American Savings. After the acquisition, Keystone will be merged into Washington Mutual. The investor group will get 26 million of the 48 million shares to be issued by Washington Mutual in the merger. With total outstanding shares of 117.5 million, the group's share amounts to a 22 percent ownership in the new company, with Bass holding an 8 percent stake. About 14 million of the new shares will go to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which will sell them after the merger. The rest will be held in escrow pending the outcome of a Keystone lawsuit against the federal government. Washington Mutual also will assume Keystone's $365 million of debt and $80 million in outstanding preferred stock. Mario Antoci, American Savings' chairman and CEO, will retire after the deal closes. Post-merger management changes have not been finalized. Antoci took over American Savings in 1988, when the Bass Group bought it. American Savings Bank was originally part of American Savings and Loan, a failed thrift that led to the largest savings and loan bailout in history. The original thrift was divided into two parts: American Savings Bank controlled the profitable assets and loans while the other unit was liquidated. American Savings Bank has 220 branches in California and Arizona. Washington Mutual has 317 branches in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana.
  119. ^ Fuquay, Jim (July 23, 1996). "Bass group bonanza - Keystone Holdings sells a California thrift in a deal valued at $1.6 billion". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1. An investment group led by Fort Worth billionaire Robert M. Bass cashed in on a $400 million investment in California's American Savings yesterday, selling the thrift it acquired less than eight years ago. The deal was valued at more than $1.6 billion. Washington Mutual Inc., the parent of one of Washington state's largest savings banks, agreed to acquire the thrift for at least 40 million shares of Washington Mutual stock. That stock was worth slightly more than $1.2 billion at Friday's closing price. Washington Mutual will also assume $465 million in debt as part of the deal... Bass made his investment through Keystone Holdings, in which he owns about 36 percent. In 1988, Keystone acquired American Savings from the federal government, which had seized the thrift in 1984. Keystone invested $350 million in cash into American Savings and spent another $50 million in expenses to buy the institution, which at the time was America's biggest insolvent thrift. Keystone installed Mario J. Antoci, a respected thrift executive, to run American Savings. The thrift, stripped of its most troubled assets, immediately started making money... The Keystone group will also name two members of Washington Mutual's 13-person board, suggesting that the group is likely to retain its interest in the company.
  120. ^ "Irvine Bank Sold". Los Angeles Times. December 20, 1996.
  121. ^ "American Savings Sale Completed". Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1996.
  122. ^ "Washington Mutual completes acquisition of Irvine-based American Savings Bank". Orange County Register. December 24, 1996. p. c02. Washington Mutual Inc. said Monday that it has completed its $2.05 billion acquisition of American Savings Bank. American, California's second-biggest mortgage lender, will continue to operate under its old name. The merger doubles the size of Seattle-based Washington Mutual. The combined bank has $43 billion in assets, $24 billion in deposits and 500 branches in nine Western states. Washington Mutual, which had no presence in California before the merger, will seek more acquisitions in the state.
  123. ^ "Washington Mutual Biggest Thrift With California Deal". Seattle Times. December 23, 1996. p. E2. Washington Mutual completed its $2.05 billion acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based American Savings Bank, giving the Seattle institution a major presence in California... Washington Mutual bought American Savings from majority holder Keystone Holdings and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has owned a stake in American for eight years. The acquisition creates an institution with assets of $43 billion, deposits of $24 billion and more than 500 offices in nine Western states.
  124. ^ Hansell, Saul (February 18, 1997). "Ahmanson Sets A $5.8 Billion Hostile Bid for Great Western". New York Times.
  125. ^ Olmos, David R. & Petruno, Tom (February 18, 1997). "Ahmanson Proposes to Join Great Western: Merger: Unsolicited $6-billion offer by Home Savings parent would create state's third-biggest finance institution". Los Angeles Times. Hoping to marry the nation's two largest savings and loans into a financial powerhouse, the corporate parent of Home Savings of America has offered to buy Great Western Financial Corp. in a deal valued at nearly $6 billion, sources close to the proposed transaction said late Monday. The unsolicited offer by Irwindale-based H.F. Ahmanson & Co. would form the third-largest financial institution in California—after giant Bank of America and Wells Fargo. It would also result in the closure of more than 100 bank branches and the probable loss of hundreds of jobs, sources said.
  126. ^ "Great Western Spurns Ahmanson, Courts Rival Suitors". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. February 22, 1997. p. B8. Great Western Financial Corp. sought to buy time to fend off H.F. Ahmanson and Co.'s $6.2 billion takeover bid yesterday as its bankers met with potential rival suitors, sources close to Great Western said... Sources said possible bidders that Great Western may have contacted include First Bank System Inc., Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Norwest Corp. Local banking executives and analysts said Washington Mutual is likely to take a close look at a deal for Great Western, and said there are equally strong reasons why the Seattle-based thrift might bid or walk away. On the negative side, Washington Mutual is currently digesting a major California acquisition, a hurry-up deal wouldn't give it time to carefully review the transaction, it wouldn't get the same cost savings Ahmanson would to make the deal attractive, and a bidding war could become expensive.
  127. ^ Virgin, Bill (March 7, 1997). "Washington Mutual Puts Money on California - Offer for Great Western Is Valued at $6.6 Billion". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. A1. Washington Mutual Inc. yesterday said it has agreed on a stock deal to acquire Great Western Financial Corp. of Chatsworth, Calif., in a combination that would create an $87.4 billion behemoth, the 12th-largest financial institution in the country... Under the terms of the agreement, Washington Mutual will swap nine-tenths of a share of its stock for each share of Great Western, an offer worth about $6.6 billion based on yesterday's closing prices.
  128. ^ Hansell, Saul (March 7, 1997). "Great Western Accepts Rival Takeover Bid". New York Times. Great Western Financial, moving to thwart a hostile takeover offer by H. F. Ahmanson & Company, said yesterday that it had agreed to be acquired by Washington Mutual for stock worth $6.6 billion in a deal that would create the country's largest savings and loan institution.
  129. ^ Brooks, Nancy Rivera & Mulligan, Thomas S. (March 7, 1997). "Thrift Launches 'White Knight' Bid for Great Western: Banking: Takeover by Washington Mutual in $6.6-billion deal would create the nation's largest S & L. But locally based Ahmanson may raise its competing offer". Los Angeles Times.
  130. ^ Lee, Don (March 18, 1997). "Ahmanson Raises Bid in Great Western War Thrifts: The $6.79-billion offer is higher than Seattle suitor's—but no 'knockout' blow, analysts say. Close vote looms". Los Angeles Times.
  131. ^ "Great Western Turns Down New $7-Billion Ahmanson Bid: Finance: Analyst says rejection comes as no surprise and that consent solicitation is a more important step". Los Angeles Times. March 27, 1997.
  132. ^ Stavro, Barry (June 14, 1997). "Shareholders Approve Great Western Merger Bank: Nation's largest thrift will result from deal with Washington Mutual, pending federal agencies' sanction". Los Angeles Times.
  133. ^ "Washington Mutual Wraps Up Great Western Deal". Los Angeles Daily News. July 3, 1997. p. B1. Washington Mutual Inc. completed its $8 billion acquisition of Chatsworth-based Great Western Financial Corp. on Wednesday, making it the largest savings and loan in the United States and expanding its presence in the resurgent California market. With the combination, Seattle-based Washington Mutual creates one of the biggest thrifts in the West, with $88.5 billion in assets, $52.5 billion in deposits and more than 1,150 branches in Washington, Oregon, California and Florida. The acquisition of Great Western, the second-largest U.S. thrift, also bolsters Washington Mutual's reputation as one of the most aggressive acquirers in the industry. Washington Mutual has completed 22 acquisitions and multiplied its assets more than twentyfold in 14 years.
  134. ^ Virgin, Bill (July 3, 1997). "Washington Mutual Still Scans Horizon for Deals". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B5. Washington Mutual Inc., which yesterday became the largest savings institution in the country, could be ready to do a deal for another thrift in nine months or less, the company's chief executive said in an interview yesterday... Seattle-based Washington Mutual doubled its size to $90 billion in assets by buying Great Western Financial Corp., just months after the purchase of another California thrift doubled Washington Mutual to more than $40 billion in assets. Now comes the job of absorbing Great Western, a task complicated by the fact that this deal makes Washington Mutual a true coast-to-coast institution, with the addition of branches in Florida.
  135. ^ Vrana, Debora (December 18, 1997). "2 Thrifts Will be Renamed: Banking: American Savings, Great Western signage will be changed to Washington Mutual". Los Angeles Times.
  136. ^ Metcalfe, Coll (November 14, 1997). "Great Western Bank Branch to Be Closed". Los Angeles Times.
  137. ^ Wilcox, Gregory J. (November 14, 1997). "Great Western, American Savings - Riding Into The Sunset? Name Change May Follow 85 Branch Closings". Los Angeles Daily News. p. B1. Ridding itself of overlapping operations, a Seattle-based thrift said Thursday it would close 85 Great Western and American Savings Bank branches in California and may eventually drop those two nameplates... Washington Mutual will have 365 branches in California after the closures are completed next year, most of them in the second quarter. They will retain their nameplate - either Great Western or American Savings depending on the branch - for the time being. But Washington Mutual officials are rethinking their earlier decision to keep the Great Western name, said Great Western spokesman Tim McGarry.
  138. ^ Geczi, Michael (March 6, 1997). "Washington Mutual to combine with Great Western through stock merger". Business Wire (Press release). p. 1. In a move that would significantly expand Washington Mutual, Inc.'s position in California, Washington Mutual (Nasdaq: WAMU) and Great Western Financial Corporation (NYSE: GWF) today jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  139. ^ Vrana, Debora & Peltz, James F. (March 18, 1998). "Home Savings to Be Acquired in $10.1-Billion Deal: Banking: Merger with Washington Mutual, the nation's biggest thrift, would mean branch closures and up to 3,500 lost jobs, mostly in Southern California". Los Angeles Times.
  140. ^ O'Brien, Timothy L. (March 18, 1998). "Biggest S.& L.'s In Merger Deal Of $9.9 Billion". New York Times.
  141. ^ Virgin, Bill (March 18, 1998). "Washington Mutual to Buy H.F. Ahmanson - It'll Become 7th-Largest U.S. Bank". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. A1. n a deal that will make an already big bank a huge one, Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc. said yesterday it will acquire H.F. Ahmanson & Co. in a stock deal worth about $10 billion. The merger will also mean closing 160 to 170 branches and eliminating 3,000 to 3,500 jobs, almost entirely in California.
  142. ^ "Washington S&L Completes Ahmanson Deal". Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1998.
  143. ^ "Washington Mutual, Ahmanson to Merge". Business Wire (Press release). March 17, 1998. p. 1. Washington Mutual, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAMU) and H.F. Ahmanson & Company (NYSE: AHM) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Washington Mutual to acquire Ahmanson in a tax-free exchange of common stock. The merger will create the nation's seventh-largest banking company based on total 1997 year-end assets of nearly $150 billion. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  144. ^ King, Ralph T. Jr. (March 18, 1998). . Wall Street Journal. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 15, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. Washington Mutual Inc. agreed to acquire H.F. Ahmanson & Co. in a stock swap valued at $10.03 billion, or $81.69 a share, a transaction that would combine the nation's two largest thrift companies... The combined entity is to retain the Washington Mutual name and headquarters in Seattle. Washington Mutual plans to eliminate 40% of Ahmanson's annual costs, or about $330 million, by the year 2000, closing up to 170 branches and laying off as many as 3,500 employees. Ahmanson is based in Irwindale, Calif... The deal, code-named "Project Grand Slam" by Washington Mutual, came together with startling speed. More than 60 Washington Mutual advisers registered under assumed names at the Doubletree Hotel in Pasadena, Calif., where they pored over Ahmanson's books, according to Philip Erlanger of Lehman Brothers, which advised Washington Mutual. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  145. ^ Pulliam, Liz (October 7, 1998). "Home Savings' Buyer to Close 161 Calif. Offices: Mergers: Three of the S & L's landmark branches are included in Washington Mutual's consolidation". Los Angeles Times.
  146. ^ "WaMu to Close Calif. Outlets". Seattle Times. October 6, 1998. p. E5. Seattle-based Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, said it will close 161 branches in California next year to combine outlets too close to each other after its purchase of Home Savings of America. The Seattle-based financial services company said 82 of the branches are Home Savings offices and 79 are Washington Mutual offices. The news follows the completion last week of Washington Mutual's acquisition of Irwindale, Calif.-based H.F. Ahmanson & Co., parent of Home Savings, for $6.9 billion.
  147. ^ "Washington Mutual Agrees to Acquire Bank United". New York Times. August 22, 2000.
  148. ^ Virgin, Bill (August 22, 2000). "Bank's Eyes Are Upon Texas - Washington Mutual Plans to Buy Houston's Bank United Corp., Which Will Provide 155 Branches". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. C1. Washington Mutual Inc., looking to make itself as much a major player in Texas banking as it is in Washington and California, yesterday said it will buy a Houston-based company in a $1.5 billion stock deal. Seattle-based Washington Mutual will acquire Bank United Corp., the largest publicly traded Texas-based financial institution. Texas was something of an incidental market Washington Mutual picked up in its 1998 acquisition of H.F. Ahmanson & Co.; while the real prize in the Ahmanson deal was its huge share of the market in California, it also had 48 branches in Texas, primarily in Houston and Dallas... Bank United will provide that, with 155 branches, including 66 in Houston, 77 in Dallas-Fort Worth and a handful in Midland, Austin and San Antonio.
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External links edit

  • Official website (Archive)
  • "Washington Mutual, Inc. History". FundingUniverse.
  • . Washington Mutual. 2008. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008.
  • . Washington Mutual. 2008. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. (list also includes pre-merger acquisitions by American Savings)
  • "Archived WaMu News Releases (2001–2008)".
  • "Archived Washington Mutual Annual Reports (1966–2007)" – via University of Washington Libraries. (high resolution binaries; large file sizes)
  • . Washington Mutual. 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. (mostly ASCII pdf or html; small file sizes)
  • "Status of Washington Mutual Bank Receivership". Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. August 24, 2016. (settlement of bankruptcy and related lawsuits)

April 12, 2024
washington, mutual, wamu, redirects, here, radio, station, wamu, often, abbreviated, wamu, american, savings, bank, holding, company, based, seattle, parent, company, wamu, bank, which, largest, savings, loan, association, united, states, until, collapse, 2008. WaMu redirects here For the radio station see WAMU 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 Washington Mutual Inc Trade nameWashington National Building Loan and Investment Association 1889 1908 Washington Savings and Loan Association 1908 1917 Washington Mutual Savings Bank 1917 1994 Washington Mutual Bank 1994 2006 WaMu Bank 2006 2008 Traded asNasdaq WAMUIndustryFinance and InsuranceFoundedSeptember 25 1889 134 years ago 1889 09 25 1 2 DefunctSeptember 25 2008 15 years ago 2008 09 25 FateChapter 11 bankruptcySuccessorsJPMorgan ChaseWMI Holdings Corp Mr CooperHeadquartersSeattle Washington United StatesKey peopleKerry Killinger CEO ProductsConsumer bankingFinancial servicesRevenueUS 15 962 billionTotal assetsUS 267 638 million 2013 3 US 339 916 million 2012 4 Number of employees49 403WebsiteArchived official website at the Wayback Machine archive index 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 Contents 1 Business operations prior to bank receivership 2 History 2 1 Mutual savings bank 2 2 Post demutualization growth 2 2 1 Acquisitions 2 3 Expansion 2 3 1 Washington 2 3 2 Oregon 2 3 3 Idaho 2 3 4 Utah 2 3 5 Montana 2 3 6 California 2 3 7 Texas 2 3 8 New York 2 4 Commercial banking 2 5 Mortgage banking 2 6 Credit cards 2 7 Rise and fall 2 7 1 Wal Mart of Banking 2 7 2 Subprime losses 2 7 3 Seizure by OTS and FDIC 2 7 4 Bankruptcy 2 8 Post receivership bank operations 3 Advertising campaigns 3 1 Free Checking Account 3 2 The Power of Yes 3 3 Whoo hoo 4 Occasio branch design 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBusiness operations prior to bank receivership edit nbsp A former WaMu branch in the Chinatown section of New York City 2004 Despite its name WaMu ceased being a mutual company in 1983 when it demutualized and became a public company on March 11 22 On June 30 2008 WaMu had total assets of 307 billion 427 billion in 2023 with 2 239 retail branch offices operating in 15 states with 4 932 ATMs and 43 198 employees It held liabilities in the form of deposits of 188 3 billion and owed 82 9 billion to the Federal Home Loan Bank and had subordinated debt of 7 8 billion It held as assets of 118 9 billion in single family loans of which 52 9 billion were option adjustable rate mortgages option ARMs with 16 billion in subprime mortgage loans and 53 4 billion of Home Equity lines of Credit HELOCs and credit cards receivables of 10 6 billion It was servicing for itself and other banks loans totaling 689 7 billion of which 442 7 were for other banks It had non performing assets of 11 6 billion including 3 23 billion in payment option ARMs and 3 0 billion in subprime mortgage loans 23 On September 15 2008 the holding company received a credit rating agency downgrade From that date through September 24 2008 WaMu experienced a bank run whereby customers withdrew 16 7 billion in deposits over those nine days 17 and in excess of 22 billion in cash outflow since July 2008 both conditions which ultimately led the Office of Thrift Supervision to close the bank 23 The FDIC then sold most of the bank s assets to JPMorgan Chase for 1 9 billion in cash plus assumption of all secured debt and some unsecured debt Claims of the subsidiary bank s equity holders senior and subordinated debt all primarily owned by the holding company were not assumed by JPMorgan Chase clarification needed 7 24 25 History edit nbsp The WaMu Tower at 1201 Third Avenue in Seattle WashingtonMutual savings bank edit WaMu was incorporated as the Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association on September 25 1889 after the Great Seattle Fire destroyed 120 acres 49 ha of the central business district of Seattle The newly formed company made its first home mortgage loan on the West Coast on February 10 1890 It changed its name to Washington Savings and Loan Association on June 25 1908 2 By September 12 1917 it was operating under the name WaMu Savings Bank 26 The company purchased its first company the financially distressed Continental Mutual Savings Bank on July 25 1930 2 Its marketing slogan for much of its history was The Friend of the Family Post demutualization growth edit In April 1982 WaMu purchased the brokerage firm Murphey Favre for undisclosed amount in cash 27 and demutualized the following year converting into a capital stock savings bank 28 Stock in the capital stock savings bank was first offered for sale on March 11 1983 29 By 1989 its assets had doubled 2 In November 1994 WaMu formed a new holding called Washington Mutual Inc and separated its non banking units from its primary banking unit Washington Mutual Savings Bank which was simultaneously renamed Washington Mutual Bank 30 31 32 The company s stock continued to trade on Nasdaq under WAMU In October 2005 WaMu purchased the formerly subprime credit card issuer Providian for approximately 6 5 billion although Providian s new management team s strategy of targeting Prime credit card consumers had been underway since 2001 therefore the credit card unit s nonperforming loan portfolio had improved significantly prior to the company s sale to WaMu In March 2006 WaMu began the move into its new headquarters WaMu Center located in downtown Seattle The company s previous headquarters WaMu Tower stands about a block away from the new building on Second Avenue In August 2006 WaMu began using the official abbreviation of WaMu in all but legal situations citation needed Acquisitions edit nbsp A WaMu office in Naperville Illinois nbsp Former Dime Savings Bank branch in Brooklyn New York nbsp A WaMu Financial Center in San Jose CaliforniaAfter the acquisition of Murphey Favre WaMu made numerous acquisitions with the aim of expanding the corporation By acquiring companies including PNC Mortgage Fleet Mortgage and Homeside Lending WaMu became the third largest mortgage lender in the U S With the acquisition of Providian Financial Corporation in October 2005 WaMu became the nation s 9th largest credit card company Many of WaMu s acquisitions became reviled as the rapid post merger integrations resulted in numerous errors The purchase of the original PNC Mortgage came at a time when subprime lending was in a boom period with PNC Financial Services believing that the market was too volatile 33 PNC later re entered the mortgage market in 2009 through its acquisition of National City Corp with no plans to re enter subprime lending The Dime merger resulted in account ownership to be split with account beneficiaries The Fleet Mortgage merger resulted in entire loans simply disappearing being serviced but unable to be found by customer service representatives 34 Expansion edit Washington edit In April 1983 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of three branch offices from the Tacoma based United Mutual Savings Bank for 3 25 million 8 36 million in 2023 35 In April 1984 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Spokane based Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank with 14 of its 16 branch offices for 4 5 million 36 37 At the time of the announcement WaMu had 39 branch offices mostly in western Washington In May 1987 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Wenatchee based Columbia Federal Savings Bank for 40 million and also the Seattle based Shoreline Savings Bank for 7 5 million 38 39 40 At the time of the announcement in May 1987 WaMu had 50 branch offices all within Washington state 39 Both acquisitions were completed in April 1988 41 In January 1990 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of all seven offices of the Seattle based Old Stone Bank of Washington from the Rhode Island based Old Stone Corporation for an undisclosed amount 42 43 44 Old Stone originally entered the state of Washington through the acquisition of the ailing Seattle based Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1985 with the assistance of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation 45 46 47 The acquisition by WaMu was completed in June 1990 for 10 million 48 49 In June 1990 WaMu announced the completed acquisition of all six offices of the failed Walla Walla based Frontier Federal Savings and Loan Association in Eastern Washington from the Resolution Trust Corporation for 1 8 million 3 71 million in 2023 50 51 In September 1990 WaMu announced the completed acquisition of all three Washington branches of the failed Utah based Williamsburg Federal Savings and Loan Association from the Resolution Trust Corporation for 1 3 million 2 68 million in 2023 52 In November 1990 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Vancouver based VanFed Bancorp with its Vancouver Federal Savings Bank subsidiary for 23 3 million 48 million in 2023 53 At the time of the announcement in November 1990 WaMu had 75 branch offices all within Washington state 53 The acquisition was completed in August 1991 54 The acquisition of the Pacific Northwest branch offices from the New York based CrossLand Savings Bank that was announced in April 1991 and completed in November 1991 gave WaMu four offices within the state of Washington in addition to other offices located in the state of Oregon 55 In August 1991 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Seattle based Sound Savings and Loan Association for an undisclosed amount 56 At the time of the announcement in August 1991 WaMu had 84 branch offices all within Washington state 56 The acquisition was completed in January 1992 57 In September 1991 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Bremerton based GNW Financial Corporation with its Great Northwest Bank subsidiary for 64 million 128 million in 2023 in cash and stock 58 59 The acquisition was completed in April 1992 60 In December 1991 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of both Washington state branch offices of the California based World Savings and Loan Association of America a subsidiary of Golden West Financial for an undisclosed amount 61 The acquisition was completed in March 1992 62 In August 1992 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Lynnwood based Pioneer Savings Bank for 181 million 353 million in 2023 in stock 63 64 65 The acquisition was completed in March 1993 66 In October 1992 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the ailing Seattle based Pacific First Financial Corporation with its Pacific First Bank subsidiary for 663 million 1 29 billion in 2023 from its Canada based parent Royal Trustco The acquisition was contingent on having Pacific First dispose of its branch offices in California and having its Canadian parent Royal Trustco assume all of Pacific First s bad loans 67 68 69 The acquisition was completed in April 1993 70 At the time of the initial announcement in October 1992 WaMu had 118 branch offices in Washington and Oregon while Pacific First had 127 branch offices in Washington Oregon and California Pacific First had previously announced that it was trading its California offices for Great Western s Washington offices As a result of the Pacific First acquisition WaMu became one of the largest banking institution based upon consumer deposits in the state of Washington second only to Seafirst 69 In June 1994 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Bellevue based Summit Bancorp with its Summit Savings Bank subsidiary for 25 million in stock 71 At the time of the announcement WaMu had 231 branch offices in Washington and Oregon The acquisition was completed in November 1994 72 In June 1995 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Bellevue based Enterprise Bank for 26 8 million 49 million in 2023 in stock this was WaMu s entry into the commercial banking sector Enterprise Bank was a highly profitable one unit carriage trade business bank staffed with highly successful management WaMu named Tom Cleveland President of the commercial banking unit which later included Western Bank in Coos Bay Oregon 73 74 75 At the time of the announcement WaMu had 260 branch offices Unlike the previous acquisition targets Enterprise held a commercial bank charter and not a thrift charter Oregon edit In April 1991 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the 25 offices in the Portland Oregon Vancouver Washington area from the failing New York based CrossLand Savings Bank a subsidiary of Brooklyn Bancorp for an undisclosed amount 76 The acquisition was completed in November 1991 55 Seven of the 25 offices were located in Washington with the remainder in Oregon As part of the transaction CrossLand Savings closed seven offices in Oregon and three offices in Washington leaving eleven offices in Oregon and four in Washington 55 CrossLand had previously entered Oregon and three other states through the relatively recent acquisition of the troubled Utah based Western Savings and Loan Association 77 78 79 The CrossLand acquisition gave WaMu a toe hold entry into Oregon via Portland As a result of the Pacific First acquisition in April 1993 WaMu became the fourth largest banking institution based upon consumer deposits within the state of Oregon 69 Originally Pacific First grew quickly in Oregon during the late 1980s through the acquisition of troubled savings and loans 80 81 By February 1991 Pacific First had 78 branches in Oregon more than any other thrift 82 Pacific First had 71 branches in Oregon by July 1992 83 In April 1994 WaMu announced the completed acquisition of three Portland area offices of the failed Portland based Far West Federal Savings Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation for 2 2 million 4 1 million in 2023 84 In October 1995 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Coos Bay based Western Bank for 156 million 285 million in 2023 in stock 85 86 87 88 The acquisition was completed in February 1996 89 Since Western Bank possessed a commercial bank charter and not a more restrictive savings amp loan charter WaMu decided to allow Western Bank to keep its charter and name and to remain semi autonomous for a while At the time of the acquisition Western Bank had 41 offices throughout Oregon Five years later WaMu decided to abandon the Western Bank brand and integrate most of the former Western Bank offices into the existing WaMu network in Oregon in 2001 90 91 Due to branch overlaps between the two brands 12 Western Bank branch offices and one WaMu branch office were sold to the Klamath Falls based Klamath First Bancorp for 33 million 92 93 Idaho edit In March 1994 WaMu announced that they were planning to expand into the state of Idaho by building new branch offices inside Fred Meyer supermarket stores with the first three being opened in the Boise area in July and August 94 95 96 97 In the following year WaMu opened a fourth Idaho location in a Moscow supermarket in February 1995 98 A branch office in Idaho Falls was acquired from the Utah based United Savings Bank when WaMu purchased the savings bank in January 1997 99 By March 2000 there were 9 locations within Idaho 100 and later 22 locations in 2008 when Chase acquired WaMu 101 Utah edit In July 1994 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Salt Lake City based Olympus Capital Corporation with its Olympus Bank FSB subsidiary for 52 1 million in stock 102 103 At the time of the announcement WaMu had 250 branch offices in Washington and Oregon while Olympus had eight branch offices in Utah and two in Montana The acquisition was completed in May 1995 104 In March 1996 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Ogden based Utah Federal Savings Bank for an undisclosed amount 105 106 At the time of the announcement Utah Federal had five branch offices while WaMu had 16 within Utah The acquisition was completed in December 1996 for 15 2 million 27 3 million in 2023 107 In September 1996 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Salt Lake City based United Western Financial Group Inc with its United Savings Bank subsidiary for 80 3 million 144 million in 2023 in cash 108 109 110 111 At the time of the announcement United Savings Bank had eight branch offices in Utah and one in Idaho The acquisition was completed in January 1997 99 Montana edit In May 1995 WaMu acquired two branch offices in Butte as the result of the acquisition of the Utah based Olympus Capital Corporation with its Olympus Bank FSB subsidiary Four years later WaMu later sold the two offices to Glacier Bancorp in 1999 for an undisclosed amount and quietly left the state of Montana 112 113 California edit In July 1996 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Fort Worth Texas based Keystone Holdings Inc with its Irvine based American Savings Bank subsidiary for 1 6 billion 2 87 billion in 2023 in stock 114 115 116 117 118 119 At the time of the announcement WaMu had 317 branch offices in Washington Oregon Idaho Utah and Montana while American Savings Bank had 220 branch offices in California 118 The acquisition was completed in December 1996 120 121 122 123 American kept its name after the acquisition The result of the acquisition nearly doubled the total deposits of all WaMu subsidiaries from 22 billion to 42 billion In February 1997 the Chatsworth based Great Western Financial the holding company for second largest thrift in the nation Great Western Bank found itself the target of a hostile takeover attempt of arch rival H F Ahmanson amp Co the holding company for the largest thrift in the nation Home Savings of America that would have involved 5 8 billion 10 2 billion in 2023 worth of stock Since the two companies had large overlapping territories many Great Western offices would have been closed by the victor if the takeover attempt had succeeded 124 125 126 The only way the combat a hostile takeover was to find another company a so called white knight that would allow a merger on much better terms One such company was WaMu In March Great Western Financial announced that it had accepted WaMu s merger proposal for 6 6 billion in WaMu stock 127 128 129 Ahmanson quickly increased their bids 130 but the bids were also rejected 131 Great Western approved the merger with WaMu in June 132 and the merger was completed in July 133 134 As part of its merger agreement it was originally announced that Great Western offices would be allowed to keep the Great Western name and there were later discussion of converting the American Savings offices to the Great Western brand In the end it was felt that it was best for the company to have only one brand throughout the nation instead of multiple regional brands so it was announce in December 1997 that both Great Western and American names would be retired in favor of the WaMu name 135 The previous month it was announced in November that 85 redundant branch offices were identified in California and were to be closed within the following year 136 137 Before the merger was complete WaMu had a total of 413 branch operating under various names across the country while Great Western had 416 branch offices operating in California and Florida 138 In March 1998 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Irwindale based H F Ahmanson amp Company with its Home Savings of America subsidiary for approximately 10 billion in stock 139 140 141 The acquisition was completed in October 1998 for only 6 9 billion 12 billion in 2023 in stock 142 Before the merger was complete WaMu had a total of 892 branch operating under various names WaMu American Savings Great Western etc across the country while Home Savings had 409 branch offices operating in California and Texas 143 144 A few days after the completion of the merger WaMu announced plans to close 161 branch offices in California 145 146 Texas edit Through the 1998 acquisition of Home Savings WaMu had gained 48 branch offices in Texas In August 2000 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Houston based Bank United Corporation with its 155 branch offices all located in Texas for 1 49 billion 2 51 billion in 2023 in stock 147 148 149 The acquisition was completed in February 2001 150 151 As a result of branch overlap between Bank United and WaMu 17 branch offices were closed in Texas 10 of which were in Houston 152 153 New York edit In June 2001 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the New York City based Dime Bancorp with its Dime Savings Bank subsidiary for 5 2 billion 8 55 billion in 2023 in cash and stock 154 155 The acquisition was completed in January 2002 156 Dime had 123 branch offices in the New York City area of both New York and New Jersey 157 Commercial banking edit With a thrift charter there were a few things that WaMu was not able to do until it was able to obtain a commercial bank charter such as making commercial loans above a certain size To get around this problem WaMu began to purchase commercial banks and maintain them as separate business entities In August 1995 WaMu acquired the one office Bellevue based Enterprise Bank in Washington A few months later WaMu acquired the 41 office Coos Bay based Western Bank in Oregon 89 By 1997 the Enterprise name and Western Bank name were merged and operated under Western Bank moniker 158 After WaMu expanded into California through the acquisitions of American Savings Great Western and Home Savings WaMu quietly acquired the one office Industrial Bank in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles an undisclosed amount in 1999 159 160 and renamed it WM Business Bank 159 By 2001 WaMu had 38 specialized business banking centers operating under the Western Bank name in the Northwest and the WM Business Bank name in California when they decided to exit their ill fated venture into the commercial banking market that was then dominated with the likes of Wells Fargo and Bank of America 90 Mortgage banking edit During the late 1990s and early 2000s WaMu decided to aggressively expand in the subprime mortgage lending field through the acquisition of existing mortgage companies at a time when other financial institutions were leaving In May 1999 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Orange California based Long Beach Financial Corporation with its Long Beach Mortgage Company subsidiary for 350 4 million 603 million in 2023 in cash and stock 161 162 The acquisition was completed in October 1999 163 Long Beach had specialized in providing subprime mortgages Some of Long Beach s questionable business practices may have led to WaMu s failure in 2008 164 In January 2000 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Los Angeles based Alta Residential Mortgage Trust for 23 million 38 7 million in 2023 165 In October 2000 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Vernon Hills Illinois based PNC Mortgage Corporation and PNC Mortgage Securities Corporation from the PNC Financial Services Group for 605 million 1 02 billion in 2023 in cash 166 167 The acquisition was completed in February 2001 168 The result of the PNC Mortgage acquisition made WaMu the nation s third largest lender In April 2001 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Columbia South Carolina based Fleet Mortgage Corporation from FleetBoston Financial for 660 million 1 08 billion in 2023 in cash 169 The acquisition was completed in June 2001 170 The result of the Fleet Mortgage acquisition made WaMu the nation s second largest mortgage servicing business In December 2001 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Jacksonville Florida based HomeSide Lending Inc from the National Australia Bank for 1 9 billion 3 12 billion in 2023 The agreement did not include the mortgage servicing rights and related financial hedges for the business 171 172 The acquisition was completed in March 2002 173 In August 2002 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the rest of HomeSide that included the mortgage servicing rights on a mortgage portfolio worth about 131 billion for 1 3 billion in cash and the assumption of 735 million in debt 174 The acquisition was completed in October 2002 175 In July 2002 the San Mateo California based Bay View Capital Corporation announced the pending sale of the mortgage loan portfolio for its Bay View Bank subsidiary to WaMu for a slight premium to book value 176 The sale was completed in the following month 177 In April 2006 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of the Irvine California based Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc with its Commercial Capital Bank FSB subsidiary for 983 million 1 43 billion in 2023 in cash 178 179 The acquisition was completed in October 2006 180 Commercial Capital had specialized in loans for the multifamily and small commercial real estate lending markets and was the third largest multifamily lender in California Credit cards edit In June 2001 WaMu announced the pending acquisition of Providian Financial Corporation tenth largest credit card issuer in the country for 6 45 billion 10 6 billion in 2023 in stock and cash 181 182 The acquisition was completed in June 2001 Prior to this acquisition WaMu had their credit cards initially issued by Associates National Bank 183 184 and later Citibank South Dakota N A 185 and was one of the largest banking organization that did not issue its own credit cards In 2005 chairman and chief executive officer Kerry Killinger said that lack of company issued credit cards was a major hole in our product line 186 Credit cards were not mentioned on their website nor in their published annual reports as an available service offered by their company prior to 2001 Rise and fall edit Wal Mart of Banking edit Chairman and CEO Kerry Killinger had pledged in 2003 We hope to do to this industry what Wal Mart did to theirs Starbucks did to theirs Costco did to theirs and Lowe s Home Depot did to their industry And I think if we ve done our job five years from now you re not going to call us a bank 187 Killinger s goal was to build WaMu into the Wal Mart of Banking which would cater to lower and middle class consumers that other banks deemed too risky Complex mortgages and credit cards had terms that made it easy for the least creditworthy borrowers to get financing a strategy the bank extended in big cities including Chicago New York and Los Angeles WaMu pressed sales agents to approve loans while placing less emphasis on borrowers incomes and assets WaMu set up a system that enabled real estate agents to collect fees of more than 10 000 for bringing in borrowers Variable rate loans Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages Option ARMs in particular were especially attractive because they carried higher fees than other loans and allowed WaMu to book profits on interest payments that borrowers deferred As WaMu was selling many of its loans to investors it worried less about defaults 9 187 Subprime losses edit nbsp The WaMu Tower center right in downtown Seattle was WaMu s corporate headquarters from 1988 until 2006 when the company moved into the new WaMu Center center left These buildings have since been renamed WaMu Tower is now known as 1201 Third Avenue and WaMu Center is now known as Russell Investments Center In December 2007 the subsidiary WaMu Bank reorganized its home loan division closing 160 of its 336 home loan offices and removing 2 600 positions in its home loan staff a 22 reduction 188 In March 2008 on the same weekend that JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon negotiated the takeover of Bear Stearns he secretly dispatched members of his team to Seattle to meet with WaMu executives urging them to consider a quick deal However WaMu Chairman and CEO Kerry Killinger rejected JPMorgan Chase s offer that valued WaMu at 8 a share mostly in stock 9 187 In April 2008 the holding company responding to losses and difficulties sustained as a result of the 2007 2008 subprime mortgage crisis announced that 3 000 people companywide would lose their jobs and the company stated its intent to close its approximately 176 remaining stand alone home loan offices including 23 in Washington and a loan processing center in Bellevue Washington It stopped buying loans from outside mortgage brokers known in the trade as wholesale lending WaMu also announced a 7 billion infusion of new capital by new outside investors led by TPG Capital TPG agreed to pump 2 billion into the WaMu holding company other investors including some of WaMu s current institutional holders agreed to buy an additional 5 billion in newly issued stock This angered many investors as TPG s investment would dilute the holdings of existing shareholders and as WaMu executives excluded mortgage losses from computing bonuses 189 In June 2008 Kerry Killinger stepped down as the chairman though remaining the Chief Executive Officer 190 On September 8 2008 under pressure from investors the WaMu holding company s board of directors dismissed Killinger as the CEO Alan H Fishman chairman of mortgage broker Meridian Capital Group and a former chief operating officer of Sovereign Bank was named the new CEO for 17 days 191 Seizure by OTS and FDIC edit By mid September 2008 WaMu s share price had closed as low as 2 00 3 00 in 2023 It had been worth over 30 00 in September 2007 and had briefly traded as high as 45 in the previous year 192 While WaMu publicly insisted it could stay independent earlier in the month it had quietly hired Goldman Sachs to identify potential bidders However several deadlines passed without anyone submitting a bid 18 At the same time WaMu suffered a massive run mostly via electronic banking over the internet and wire transfer citation needed customers pulled out 16 7 billion in deposits in a ten day span 193 This led the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to step up pressure for WaMu to find a buyer as a takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC could have been a severe drain on the FDIC insurance fund which had already been hard hit by the failure of IndyMac that year The FDIC ultimately held a secret auction of WaMu Bank which was won by JPMorgan Chase On the morning of Thursday September 25 which happened to be the 119th anniversary of WaMu s establishment regulators informed officials at JPMorgan Chase that they were the winners 18 On Thursday night shortly after the close of business on the West Coast the Office of Thrift Supervision seized WaMu Bank and placed it into the receivership of the FDIC In a statement the OTS said that the massive run meant that WaMu was no longer sound 193 The FDIC then sold most of WaMu Bank s assets including the branch network to JPMorgan Chase for 1 9 billion JPMorgan Chase agreed to assume the bank s secured debts and liabilities to depositors The transaction did not require any FDIC insurance funds 194 Normally bank seizures take place after the close of business on Fridays However due to the bank s deteriorating condition and leaks that a seizure was imminent regulators felt compelled to act a day early 18 Because JPMorgan Chase bought WaMu s assets for a low price WaMu s stockholders were nearly wiped out Its stock price dropped to 0 16 a share well below its high of a year earlier 192 In its Chapter 11 filing WaMu listed assets of 33 billion and debt of 8 billion ref Appendix A The filing also indicates that enough funds are available for distribution to unsecured creditors Within days of the seizure a hedge fund adviser and investment strategist Mike Stathis of AVA Investment Analytics issued a formal complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission demonstrating evidence of insider trading The complaint also alleged that WaMu was not insolvent and several Wall Street firms and hedge funds had conspired to short the stock He also stated that he spoke with a reporter from the Associated Press who told him that he was contacted by a WaMu executive hours before the seizure telling the reporter that it would happen for political reasons In later criticisms Stathis discussed that neither the FDIC nor OTS ever disclosed any evidence of WaMu s insolvency 195 Stathis stated that within a few weeks of submitting his complaint he was visited by federal agents who held him in an interrogation room for questioning As a result of this Stathis stated that he felt bullied and did not release the SEC complaint into the public domain until a year later 196 197 Shareholders fought what they considered the illegal seizure of WaMu through such websites as WaMuCoup com dead link and others claiming that the OTS acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and seized the bank for political reasons or for the benefit of JPMorgan Chase which acquired a large network of branches at what they claim to be an unfairly low price 198 Shareholders claimed that as of the date of the takeover the bank had enough liquidity to meet all its obligations and was in compliance with the business plan negotiated with the OTS 2 weeks earlier 199 and that the holding company s board and management was kept completely in the dark about the government s negotiations with Chase hampering the bank s ability to sell itself on its own Chief executive Alan H Fishman was flying from New York to Seattle on the day the bank was closed and eventually received a 7 5 million sign on bonus and cash severance of 11 6 million which he declined after being CEO for 17 days 200 Senator Maria Cantwell demanded an explanation from the government and threatened to open an investigation 201 and WaMu s former shareholders have threatened a lawsuit demanding compensation for the lost value of their shares 199 The seizure of WaMu Bank resulted in the largest bank failure in American financial history dwarfing the failure of Continental Illinois in 1984 18 202 203 Bankruptcy edit On September 26 2008 WaMu Inc and its remaining subsidiary WMI Investment Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 204 WaMu Inc was promptly delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange and commenced trading via Pink Sheets The bankruptcy was the second major filing in as many weeks after the Lehman Brothers filing eleven days earlier both bankruptcies far outpaced WorldCom s 2002 filing which had held the record with just under 104 billion 168 billion in 2023 in assets WaMu s alone which was approximately half that of Lehman Brothers was three times as much as WorldCom s All assets but only some liabilities including deposits covered bonds and other secured debt of WaMu Bank were assumed by JPMorgan Chase 205 Under the deal JPMorgan Chase acquired all the banking operations of WaMu including 307 billion in assets and 188 billion in deposits for a price of 1 9 billion plus debt assumptions 206 Unsecured senior debt obligations of the bank were not assumed by JPMorgan Chase leaving holders of those obligations with little meaningful source of recovery 205 On the morning of September 26 WaMu Bank customers were informed that all deposits held by WaMu were now liabilities of JPMorgan Chase 207 The IRS claimed 12 5 billion in back taxes from WaMu Inc The company filed court papers on January 22 2009 alleging losses were 20 billion 27 6 billion in 2023 and the company requested that it pay nothing of the tax debt stating that the IRS could owe WaMu Inc a tax refund 208 In a 2010 settlement between Wash Mutual Inc in receivership the FDIC and JPMorgan Chase a tax refund of about 5 7 billion 7 78 billion in 2023 will be shared between Wash Mutual Inc JPMorgan Chase and FDIC 209 WaMu Inc sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC for 13 billion after the sale of its banking operations to JPMorgan Chase 210 WMI attorneys claim the bank did not get fair value for the bank and multiple subsidiaries belonging to the parent company were taken On January 11 2010 the United States Department of Justice Office of the United States Trustee District of Delaware pursuant to Section 1102 a 1 of the Bankruptcy Code appointed a Committee of Equity Security Holders to represent all shareholders of both preferred and common stock All of the Motions to Disband the Committee of Equity Security Holders were denied on January 28 2010 by U S Bankruptcy Judge Mary F Walrath District of Delaware 211 212 On July 20 2010 bankruptcy judge Mary Walrath approved a motion of the EC for an examiner to investigate potential legal claims and assets of WMI handing a victory to shareholders The Judge directed the examiner to investigate not just the legal settlement with the FDIC and JPMorgan Chase at the heart of WaMu s reorganization but also all potential claims and assets that are part of the settlement or that will be retained by the company 213 On July 26 2010 U S Trustee Roberta A DeAngelis appointed veteran bankruptcy examiner and McKenna Long amp Aldridge LLP partner Joshua R Hochberg to conduct a probe into the proposed settlement between WMI JPMorgan Chase and the FDIC Hochberg is a partner in McKenna Long amp Aldridge s Washington office whose practice focuses on individual and corporate white collar defense internal investigations and compliance 214 On August 10 2010 the bankruptcy judge rejected WaMu Inc s effort to obtain personal financial information from shareholders demanding that the company schedule an annual meeting Attorneys for the EC said that WMI was simply trying to delay scheduling a shareholder meeting by seeking personal information The judge agreed that WMI was not entitled to the information 215 On November 1 2010 examiner Joshua R Hochberg from McKenna Long amp Aldridge LLP presented his long awaited report but it did not meet the expectations of the court since the report was based on unsworn interviews and confidential attorney client work On December 12 the court decided to exclude the examiner s report during the plan confirmation hearings saying it can t be considered expert testimony or submitted as evidence unless it is subject to questioning to determine the basis of its conclusions 216 On January 7 2011 the bankruptcy court rejected the 6th proposed plan of reorganization which was proposed by the debtors and their lawyers from Weil Gotshal amp Manges LLP Judge Mary Walrath focused many of her criticisms on the company s releases of liability granted to directors officers and others including some hedge funds who she said did not contribute anything to the settlement She noted for example that shareholders who will likely get nothing should not have to release the company s board from the threat of being sued by them 217 On September 14 2011 the court also rejected the modified 6th proposed plan of reorganization Judge Mary F Walrath wrote that four hedge funds that had played a role in WaMu s restructuring might have received confidential information that could have been used to trade improperly in the bank s debt The four hedge funds are Appaloosa Management Aurelius Capital Management Centerbridge Partners and Owl Creek Asset Management 218 A seventh plan of reorganization was announced in February 2012 219 220 and the company finally emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following month as WMI Holdings Corporation 221 By 2015 WMI Holdings was able to raise 598 million 752 million in 2023 and was looking for new acquisitions 222 Post receivership bank operations edit During 2009 all of the WaMu Bank branches that had been purchased from the FDIC after the bank had been placed into receivership were rebranded to Chase or shuttered All financial documents issued by WaMu were changed to carry the Chase logo Credit and debit cards issued by WaMu or Providian were changed to carry the Chase logo The transition to Chase began in early 2009 when Chase ATMs became accessible for WaMu customers at no extra charge All branches and accounts were formally merged in 2009 as the WaMu brand was retired 18 Branches in the Pacific Northwest Idaho and Utah were rebranded in May 2009 branches in Florida Georgia Texas Illinois and Greater New York were rebranded in July 2009 and the remaining branches in Nevada California Arizona and Colorado were rebranded in October 2009 223 224 The last rebrandings formally retired the WaMu name In markets where Chase already had a dominant presence such as Greater New York and Chicago owing to the presence of Chase and predecessor Bank One Chase further disposed of such branches to other banks In New York for instance the acquisition resulted in Chase branches located on the same block as WaMu branches 225 Advertising campaigns edit Free Checking Account edit This advertising campaign was introduced between 2005 and 2007 Numerous WaMu commercials showed traditionally dressed 60 70 year old overweight bankers laughing out loud at a WaMu representative who is much younger and fitter who says the words Free Checking Account The Power of Yes edit WaMu introduced an advertising campaign during the 2003 Academy Awards known as The Power of Yes This was to promote the offering of loans to all consumers particularly borrowers that the banks deemed too risky Another commercial in the ad series showed WaMu representatives in casual clothes contrasting with traditionally dressed bankers in suits Whoo hoo edit nbsp A promotional WaMu Whoo hoo bumper sticker Whoo hoo was an advertising campaign introduced by WaMu in February 2008 As fears of an economic crisis were rising and WaMu was looking to become an iconic brand that people love they began courting consumers with a new slogan designed to position WaMu as a consumer friendly institution 226 During its run the Whoo hoo ads created by TBWA Chiat Day of Playa del Rey California 226 become widespread in web navigation 227 After WaMu launched the new advertisement there was double digit growth at its website 227 and the term wamu appeared in searches over 1 000 more between January and March than in all of 2007 227 WaMu before the bank s September 2008 conservatorship and sale to JPMorgan Chase applied to register a trademark in the phrase 228 229 Initially the bank wanted to use woo hoo without the h in the first word as the slogan but they were concerned because of the existing use of the phrase by Homer Simpson a character in The Simpsons 228 Occasio branch design editWaMu introduced a unique branch design known as Occasio which eliminated traditional teller windows and queuing stanchions in favor of an open circular floor plan with a greeter or concierge position and tellers working from behind podiums 230 231 The Occasio design was introduced in 2000 and patented in 2004 232 but was phased out following the JPMorgan Chase acquisition of WaMu s retail banking operations 233 See also editBank failure List of largest U S bank failures Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Financial crisis of 2007 2008 2008 2011 bank failures in the United States List of acquired or bankrupt United States banks in the late 2000s financial crisisReferences edit 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 a b c d History Washington Mutual Bank Archived from the original on November 16 2008 Retrieved September 28 2008 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 e Levy Ari amp 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 a b c 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 amp Maler Sandra September 27 2008 WaMu files bankruptcy petition in Delaware Reuters Retrieved September 27 2008 a b 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 a b c d e f Dash Eric amp 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 JPMorgan to buy WaMu Sep 25 2008 money cnn com Retrieved June 24 2019 a b OTS Fact Sheet on Washington Mutual Bank PDF Office of Thrift Supervision September 25 2008 Archived from the original PDF on October 1 2008 Retrieved September 28 2008 JPMorgan Chase Acquires Banking Operations of Washington Mutual FDIC Facilitates Transaction that Protects All Depositors and Comes at No Cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund Press release Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation September 25 2008 Retrieved September 25 2008 Sidel Robin Enrich David amp Fitzpatrick Dan September 26 2008 WaMu Is Seized Sold Off to J P Morgan In Largest Failure in U S Banking History The Wall Street Journal Retrieved September 27 2008 Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Timeline Washington Mutual A long history The Seattle Times September 26 2008 Retrieved September 29 2008 Business Briefs Wall Street Journal April 22 1982 p 48 Archived from the original on March 21 2017 Retrieved July 7 2017 Washington Mutual Savings Bank of Seattle said it has purchased Murphey Favre Inc a brokerage firm in Spokane for cash The amount wasn t disclosed Washington Mutual is the state s largest mutual savings bank Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Briefs Debt Issues New York Times February 19 1983 p I40 Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it filed a preliminary offering with the Supervisor of Banking covering the offering of common shares as it converts from a mutual to a stock savings bank through underwriters led by Salomon Brothers Link subscription required via ProQuest Briefs New York Times March 11 1983 p D7 Washington Mutual Savings Bank s offering of 2 8 million common shares was priced at 12 50 a share through Salomon Brothers Link subscription required via ProQuest Washington Mutual Assumes New Holding Company Name Seattle Times November 30 1994 Ehrlich Bill November 30 1994 Washington Mutual completes reorganization to holding company structure PR Newswire Press release p 1 Chairman President and Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger today announced the completion of the reorganization of Washington Mutual Savings Bank into a holding company structure The new financial services holding company is called Washington Mutual Inc Nasdaq WAMU In the reorganization all outstanding shares of Washington Mutual Savings Bank stock were converted to shares of stock of Washington Mutual Inc Washington Mutual s common stock will continue to be reported on the Nasdaq National Market under the stock symbol WAMU Also as part of the reorganization Washington Mutual Savings Bank has become Washington Mutual Bank a subsidiary of Washington Mutual Inc Washington Mutual Inc is a holding company for both banking and nonbanking subsidiaries These organizations provide consumer banking full service securities brokerage mutual fund management travel and insurance underwriting services At Sept 30 1994 the predecessor of Washington Mutual Inc had consolidated assets of 17 8 billion and operated more than 250 financial centers and home loan centers in Washington Oregon and Idaho Link subscription required via ProQuest Washington Mutual s Name Wall Street Journal December 1 1994 p A3 Archived from the original on March 20 2017 Retrieved July 7 2017 Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it formed a holding company named Washington Mutual Inc Shares outstanding of the thrift institution were converted into shares of the new company The name of the company s main banking subsidiary has been changed to Washington Mutual Bank Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Washington Mutual Completes Acquisition of PNC Mortgage AllBusiness com Press release February 1 2001 Archived from the original on April 13 2008 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS CENTRAL DIVISION PDF Gov Info Washington Mutual Agrees To Buy 3 Branches of a Bank Wall Street Journal April 15 1983 p 14 Archived from the original on March 20 2017 Retrieved July 7 2017 Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it signed a letter of intent to buy three branches from United Mutual Savings Bank also of Tacoma for 3 250 000 Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Bank Merger Set New York Times April 21 1984 p 1 28 An agreement has been reached for the Washington Mutual Savings Bank of Seattle to acquire the Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank of Spokane Wash the companies said Two Lincoln branches in Bellevue and Kent Wash will be sold to United Bank of Tacoma Wash for an estimated 4 5 million Washington Mutual which went public last year is the third largest financial institution in the state with assets of 3 4 billion Lincoln has assets of 480 million Link subscription required via ProQuest Washington Mutual Set To Take Over Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank Wall Street Journal April 23 1984 p 1 Archived from the original on March 20 2017 Retrieved July 7 2017 Washington Mutual Savings Bank said it agreed to merge with Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank of Spokane Wash Washington Mutual has about 1 000 employees and 39 branches mostly in western Washington Lincoln currently employs about 170 and has 16 branches mostly in eastern Washington Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Ramsey Bruce May 18 1987 Washington Mutual to Buy Wenatchee Bank for 40 Million Seattle Post Intelligencer p B10 Washington Mutual Savings Bank announced Saturday that it has reached a definitive agreement to buy Columbia Federal Savings Bank of Wenatchee for about 40 million a b Heberlein Greg May 18 1987 Washington Mutual Buys Seattle Wenatchee Banks Seattle Times p C11 Faster than you can say mergers and acquisitions Washington Mutual Savings Bank added two new friends of the family The state s third largest financial institution which keys its advertising off the friends of the family theme in less than 48 hours said it was acquiring both Wenatchee based Columbia Federal Savings Bank and north Seattle s Shoreline Savings Bank Washington Mutual has 50 branches Shoreline operates 15 branches Columbia Federal has 12 An earlier agreement in which Shoreline would sell three branches to Washington Mutual was vetoed by regulators ostensibly because it would have further weakened the ailing institution The Columbia Federal acquisition would give Washington Mutual its first significant presence in Central Washington It obtained a strong Eastern Washington foothold in 1985 when it acquired Spokane based Lincoln Mutual Savings Bank Gapay Les May 19 1987 Washington Mutual Will Buy Shoreline Seattle Post Intelligencer p B6 Washington Mutual Savings Bank continued its acquisition spree yesterday by agreeing to buy Shoreline Savings Bank for about 7 5 million Washington Mutual on Saturday reached an agreement to buy Columbia Federal Savings Bank of Wenatchee for about 40 million Washington Mutual the third largest financial institution in Washington state with 5 6 billion in assets said the Shoreline deal would give it branches in areas where it wants to increase its presence Shoreline has 15 branches in the North Puget Sound area including Seattle In addition the Columbia Federal deal would add 384 million in assets and the Shoreline purchase 396 million in assets to Washington Mutual Washington Mutual Two Recent Purchases to Merge Into One Bank Seattle Post Intelligencer April 29 1988 p C5 Washington Mutual Savings Bank today will merge two recent acquisitions Columbia Federal Savings Bank and Shoreline Savings Bank to form a new subsidiary The new subsidiary will operate under the Columbia Federal Savings Bank name but Shoreline signs will remain at former Shoreline branches for an indefinite period officials said Joseph Evans a Columbia senior vice president was named president of the new 26 branch subsidiary Deposits will be insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp After the merger Washington Mutual Financial Group will have 76 branches which can be used by customers of Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Columbia Federal Washington Mutual s assets will increase to 6 2 billion from 5 5 billion The Seattle based savings bank paid about 39 million or 17 53 a share for Columbia Federal and 7 5 million or 5 a share for Shoreline Bilotti Armand G Holbrook Robert B amp Izzi Louis R Jr January 25 1990 Old Stone Completes Agreement to Sell Washington Retail Division to Washington Mutual Savings Bank Business Wire Press release p 1 Old Stone Corp Thursday announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell its Washington state retail division Old Stone Bank of Washington to Washington Mutual a Federal Savings Bank Originally named Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association Old Stone Bank of Washington was acquired with federal assistance by Old Stone Corp at the end of the 1985 Link subscription required via ProQuest Washington Mutual to Buy Old Stone State Subsidiary Seattle Post Intelligencer January 26 1990 p C4 Washington Mutual Savings Bank announced yesterday it has agreed to purchase Old Stone Bank of Washington a subsidiary of Old Stone Corp of Providence R I In addition Washington Mutual will acquire all seven Seattle Tacoma area branch offices of Old Stone The Rhode Island bank moved into the area in 1985 when it bought money losing Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association and renamed it Old Stone Bank of Washington Bank To Acquire Old Stone Branches Seattle Times April 7 1990 Lane Polly December 30 1985 Old Stone Buys Citizens Federal Seattle Times p D9 Lane Polly December 31 1985 FSLIC Helps Rhode Island Firm Buy Citizens Seattle Times p D3 Old Stone Acquisition Of Citizens Savings Gets Bank Board Nod Wall Street Journal December 31 1985 p 1 Archived from the original on April 3 2017 Retrieved July 7 2017 The Federal Home Loan Bank Board approved the acquisition of ailing Citizens Savings amp Loan Association Seattle by Old Stone Corp a Providence R I thrift holding company Citizens a mutual thrift with 477 4 million in assets was converted to a federally chartered stock savings bank Old Stone Bank of Washington effective yesterday Old Stone Corp has 3 7 billion in assets To enable the takeover to occur the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp will give the new savings bank some cash and indemnify it from certain liabilities and possible litigation resulting from the acquisition a Bank Board spokesman said Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Bilotti Armand G amp Izzi Louis R Jr May 31 1990 Old Stone Completes Sale of Washington Branch Network Business Wire Press release p 1 Old Stone Corp Thursday announced it has completed the sale of its Washington state retail division Old Stone Bank of Washington to Washington Mutual a federal savings bank a subsidiary of Seattle based Washington Mutual Savings Bank for a pre tax gain of approximately 10 million Old Stone and Washington Mutual reached a definitive purchase agreement on January 25 1990 and received regulatory approval for the sale from the Office of Thrift Supervision on April 6 1990 Link subscription required via ProQuest U S Bank Old Stone Bank Sale Completion Announced Seattle Post Intelligencer June 2 1990 p B6 Old Stone Corp said it has completed the sale of its Washington state retail division Old Stone Bank of Washington to Washington Mutual for about 10 million In 1985 Old Stone acquired the troubled bank which was formerly the Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association Frontier Federal A Deal With Washington Mutual Seattle Post Intelligencer June 23 1990 p B6 Washington Mutual yesterday paid 2 3 million to federal regulators to acquire portions of Frontier Federal Savings and Loan Association in eastern Washington Frontier s branches in Walla Walla Pullman Kennewick Richland and Dayton will open under Washington Mutual s management on Monday Resolution Trust Corp had managed Frontier since it went into receivership on Feb 23 Washington Mutual Acquisitions to Open Seattle Times June 25 1990 p C7 Frontier Federal Savings amp Loan Association offices in Eastern Washington will open today as branches of Washington Mutual Washington Mutual acquired Frontier Federal Friday from the Resolution Trust Corp for about 1 8 million once accounting adjustments were made The RTC had managed Frontier Federal since it went into receivership Feb 23 Two of the former Frontier branches are in Walla Walla Others are in Pullman Kennewick Richland and Dayton The Seattle based federal savings bank will assume Frontier s deposit liabilities of about 91 5 million Assets include its consumer loan portfolio options to purchase branch facilities and its residential loan portfolio MacKenzie Bill September 15 1990 Buyers Pick Segments Of Utah Thrift The Oregonian p E01 Utah based Williamsburg Federal Savings and Loan Association The deal involving three financial institutions was announced Friday night by the federal Resolution Trust Corp Washington Mutual Savings Bank also of Seattle bought Williamsburg s three Washington branches for 1 3 million a b Lane Polly November 12 1990 Washington Mutual To Buy Savings Bank In Vancouver Seattle Times Vanfed Purchase Completed Yesterday Seattle Times August 1 1991 p C6 Washington Mutual Savings Bank s 23 3 million acquisition of VanFed Bancorp was completed late yesterday VanFed shareholders will receive 19 a share the companies said Vancouver Wash based VanFed operates seven branches in the Clark County area a b c Washington Mutual Completes S amp L Buy Seattle Times November 11 1991 a b Sound Savings To Merge Seattle Times August 9 1991 Washington Mutual Completes S amp L Buy Seattle Times January 3 1992 p F1 Washington Mutual said yesterday it has completed its acquisition of Sound Savings and Loan Association of Seattle The merger was effective as of Wednesday Heberlein Greg September 20 1991 Washington Mutual to Buy GNW Seattle Times p D8 The acquisitive Washington Mutual Savings Bank jumped back in the marketplace today announcing a 64 million cash and stock deal for the parent of Bremerton based Great Northwest Bank The state s largest residential lender with assets of 7 billion said it plans to pay about 24 60 a share for GNW Financial which has about 700 million in assets Bill Virgin P I Reporter September 21 1991 Washington Mutual Plans Another Buy Seattle Post Intelligencer p B4 Washington Mutual Savings Bank plans to buy Great Northwest Bank of Bremerton and the chairman of the Seattle thrift says his institution s appetite for acquisitions isn t sated yet The cash and stock takeover of Great Northwest s parent GNW Financial Corp for 64 million was announced yesterday and is the seventh acquisition by Washington Mutual during 1990 and 1991 Last year Washington Mutual the state s largest thrift signed deals for VanFed BanCorp the Washington branches of Old Stone Bank Frontier Federal Savings and Loan in Walla Walla and three offices of Williamsburg Savings and Loan This year Washington Mutual has agreed to buy Washington and Oregon branches of CrossLand Savings and Sound Savings and Loan of Seattle Washington Mutual Completes Bremerton Thrift Buyout Seattle Post Intelligencer April 2 1992 p B4 Washington Mutual Savings Bank completed its purchase of GNW Financial Corp yesterday and said it will close three of the Bremerton thrift s branches and one of its own Seattle based Washington Mutual said the four branches two in Tacoma and one each in Seattle and Spokane will be combined with nearby branches The four branches will be closed June 19 GNW subsidiary Great Northwest Bank had 119 employees working at its 17 branches Washington Mutual Buys World Offices Seattle Times December 19 1991 p E3 ashington Mutual Savings Bank has agreed to buy two Snohomish County branches of World Savings and Loan Association of America a subsidiary of Golden West Financial Corp of Oakland Calif The two branches in Lynnwood and Everett account for all of World s Washington business Washington Mutual Expands Holdings Seattle Times March 7 1992 p A16 Washington Mutual Savings Bank yesterday completed the acquisition of about 40 million of deposits at World Savings and Loan Association s Washington branches in Everett and Lynnwood Its subsidiary Washington Mutual a Federal Savings Bank will continue operations at the two locations All branch employees were offered continuing employment with Washington Mutual World Savings retains ownership of its loan centers in Lynnwood and Bellevue With assets of 7 1 billion Washington Mutual has 7 1 billion in assets and operates a total of 104 financial centers and 18 home loan centers in Washington Oregon and Idaho Fysh Graham August 21 1992 Washington Mutual to Buy Pioneer for 181 Million Tacoma News Tribune p C9 Seattle s Washington Mutual Savings Bank continues to expand by gobbling up competitors in the Puget Sound region The bank announced late Thursday that it has agreed to buy Pioneer Savings Bank of Lynnwood in a stock swap deal valued at 181 million The buyout which is likely to be completed early next year after federal and shareholder approval comes less than a year after Washington Mutual s 64 million purchase of Bremerton based Great Northwest Savings Bank which added 17 branches Washington Mutual has also acquired two smaller savings and loan banks this year which added three new branches The savings bank s 123 branches would increase to 141 if the Pioneer deal goes through Pioneer Savings Bank Signs Agreement to Merge With Washington Mutual Savings Bank PR Newswire Press release August 20 1992 Archived from the original on March 20 2017 Retrieved March 19 2017 via The Free Library Flores Himanee Gupta Michele Matassa August 21 1992 Pioneer Savings to Be Acquired Washington Mutual Deal Worth 181 Million Seattle Times p D7 All but one of Pioneer s 17 branches are in King and Snohomish Washington Mutual has 53 locations in King and Snohomish counties slightly less than half of its total 118 financial centers and 18 home loan centers in Washington Oregon and Idaho a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Washington Mutual completes takeover of Pioneer Bank United Press International March 1 1993 Heberlein Greg October 27 1992 Washington Mutual To Buy Bank Washington Mutual Wins Bid For Pacific First Seattle Times In one of the Pacific Northwest s biggest financial transactions of its kind Washington Mutual Savings Bank said today it won the sweepstakes to take control of Pacific First Financial Corp parent company to Pacific First Bank The move will make Washington Mutual the second largest financial institution in Washington and give it a huge initial presence in Oregon Washington Mutual said it will pay 663 million for the rival institution both have Seattle headquarters After the deal is done next May or June Washington Mutual will be second in size here only to Seafirst Bank Just three years ago then publicly held Pacific First was acquired by Royal Trustco of Toronto Canada for 212 million But since then Royal Trustco has run into problems elsewhere and decided to abandon its strategy to string branches along the West Coast of the United States It put Pacific First up for bid Washington Mutual buying Pacific First Kitsap Sun October 27 1992 Washington Mutual Savings Bank has signed a definitive agreement to buy Pacific First Bank from Canada s Royal Trustco Ltd for 663 million the companies announced today Washington Mutual will acquire Pacific First Financial Corp the holding company for the federal savings bank from RT Holdings Inc a subsidiary of Royal Trustco After approval by regulators the deal is expected to close in mid 1993 a b c Virgin Bill October 28 1992 Washington Mutual Plans to Buy Pacific First Bank Seattle Post Intelligencer p B5 Washington Mutual Savings Bank will buy Pacific First Bank in a deal that cements its position as one of the three leading financial institutions in the Pacific Northwest It also brings to a somewhat messy and expensive end a foray into the American banking market by Royal Trustco Ltd of Toronto parent of Pacific First While Royal Trustco is giving up its dream of building an American banking empire anchored in Seattle it will be stuck with hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate loans that are in default or heading that way And the 663 million acquisition of Pacific First Financial Corp marks the third major upheaval of banking in Washington in a year which will mean more sign changes building closures and potential layoffs for employees Washington Mutual already has 8 4 billion in assets and 118 branches and 17 loan centers in Washington and Oregon Pacific First has assets of 6 9 billion 127 branches in Washington Oregon and California and eight mortgage offices It previously agreed to trade its 10 California branches for Great Western Bank s 14 Washington branches Once the Pacific First deal is completed Washington Mutual will have assets of about 14 billion Pacific First is merely the latest in a series of acquisitions Washington Mutual has made in the last few years including Pioneer Savings in Lynnwood Great Northwest in Bremerton and VanFed in Vancouver With Pacific First s branches Washington Mutual s share of consumer deposits in Washington will be 17 2 percent ahead of KeyCorp Puget Sound with 10 3 percent and trailing only Seafirst at 20 4 percent Tejera said In Oregon Washington Mutual will become the fourth biggest in consumer deposits Washington Mutual acquires Pacific First United Press International April 12 1993 Washington Mutual Savings Bank announced the acquisition Monday of Pacific First Financial Corp and its Seattle based subsidiary Pacific First Bank for an undisclosed sum from RT Holdings Inc a subsidiary of Toronto s Royal Trustco Ltd Acohido Byron June 14 1994 Summit Merging With Washington Mutual Seattle Times Washington Mutual Savings Bank Completes Summit Bancorp Merger PR Newswire Press release November 15 1994 Archived from the original on March 21 2017 Retrieved March 21 2017 via The Free Library Washington Mutual To Buy Enterprise Aim Of Deal Tiny Bank s Commercial Charter Seattle Times June 2 1995 Washington Mutual Signs Agreement to Acquire Enterprise Bank PR Newswire Press release June 2 1995 Archived from the original on March 21 2017 Retrieved March 21 2017 via The Free Library Virgin Bill June 3 1995 Washington Mutual to Buy All Of Enterprise Combination Is Good for Both Sides Executives Say Seattle Post Intelligencer p B4 Washington Mutual Bank plans to acquire the 90 percent of Bellevue s Enterprise Bank it doesn t already own completing a somewhat unusual alliance of a big thrift institution dealing mainly with consumers and a small commercial bank whose focus is business Enterprise has one office and assets of about 135 million compared with 260 offices and 19 1 billion for Washington Mutual Enterprise will operate under Washington Mutual s state savings bank charter but as a separate organization and under its current name Washington Mutual Buys 25 Branches Seattle Times April 15 1991 Crossland Savings New York Times February 20 1987 Sorensen Donald J November 9 1987 Weak Thrifts Still Face Hard Times The Oregonian p D09 CrossLand which acquired Western Savings Association this year Sorensen Donald J December 15 1988 Crossland Savings Plans Bank Branches In NW Safeway Stores The Oregonian p F15 CrossLand Savings on Wednesday announced plans to install full service banking branches in Safeway stores in Oregon and Washington The agreement calls for branches to be installed in 20 stores in the Portland Vancouver area and eight in the Eugene Springfield section of the state The first branches are scheduled to open March 1 in the Safeway store in Raleigh Hills and one in the Esplanade mall in Hillsboro according to Christopher J Sumner president of the savings bank All will be operating by December 1990 the savings bank said CrossLand has seven full service branches in the Portland metropolitan area that were picked up when it acquired Western Savings Sorensen Donald J December 16 1988 Tacoma Thrift Acquires Two S amp Ls The Oregonian p C01 Federal regulators Thursday announced the acquisition of insolvent savings and loans in Salem and Vancouver Wash by Pacific First Financial Corp of Tacoma The insolvent institutions are American Home Savings Bank of Salem and Community First Federal Savings Both have been under federal supervision for more than a year and have substantial negative net worth The two thrifts were closed by regulators Thursday and will open under Pacific First ownership Friday where business will be conducted without interruption The institutions were acquired through a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific First Federal Savings Bank and will be operated as Pacific First Bank The twin acquisition will expand Pacific First s operations in Oregon and the Portland market It already has 11 branches in Portland and Eugene and it will pick up nine more from Community in the Portland area and 17 American Home offices in the mid Willamette Valley It will also get seven Community branches in the Vancouver area MacKenzie Bill December 1 1990 Willamette S amp L Closure Costs 150 Jobs The Oregonian p D01 When Pacific First Financial Corp shuts down the last remnant of the former Willamette Savings and Loan Dec 7 it will have laid off about 150 former Willamette employees At the time Seattle based Pacific First acquired Willamette in June from the federal Resolution Trust Corp MacKenzie Bill February 22 1991 Pacific First Tops Oregon Thrifts The Oregonian p E15 Pacific First Bank a Seattle based thrift has quietly become the largest holder of deposits among all thrifts operating in Oregon It also operates 78 branches in Oregon more than any other thrift Its rise has been due in part to turmoil in the thrift industry that has led to deposit declines at competitors and the shift of one large thrift to a bank Pacific First had 1 1 billion in deposits at its Oregon branches at the end of 1989 A year later deposits had grown to 2 3 billion It now holds about 27 percent of the thrift market in Oregon and about 9 percent of the combined thrift and bank market The next largest Oregon thrift is Far West Federal Bank with 1 3 billion in deposits Pacific First has been serving Oregonians since 1936 but it had only a few branches until December 1988 when it bought 17 branches of Salem based American Home Savings One year later the thrift was acquired by Toronto Canada based Royal Trustco Canada s largest trust company which injected 100 million of capital into the thrift and set it on an aggressive expansion course Pacific First acquired the 45 branches of Willamette Savings and Loan in June and added the 12 Oregon branches of the Williamsburg Federal Savings and Loan Association in September Some recently acquired branches have been closed leaving the thrift with 78 Oregon branches spread throughout the state but principally in the Portland metropolitan area and the Willamette Valley Ellis Barnes C July 26 1992 Parent Company Considers Selling Pacific First Bank The Oregonian p C03 The Canadian parent corporation of Pacific First Financial Corp is considering selling the savings bank in a move that could affect employees in 71 Oregon branches Royal Trustco Ltd of Toronto is holding discussions with a number of financial institutions Pacific First announced in a statement from the bank s Seattle headquarters RTC Sells Most Assets Of Far West Seattle Times April 18 1994 Lane Polly amp Heberlein Greg October 12 1995 Wash Mutual To Buy Bank Purchase Of Western Bank Will Expand Oregon Holdings Seattle Times Washington Mutual Inc said today it will expand its presence in Oregon by acquiring Western Bank of Coos Bay the second largest independent commercial bank in the Northwest after U S Bancorp Western Bank which operates 41 offices in 33 Oregon communities had assets of 780 1 million at the end of September Washington Mutual Buys Oregon Bank The Spokesman Review October 13 1995 Virgin Bill October 13 1995 Washington Mutual to Buy Oregon Bank Acquisition Adds 41 Offices And Increases Reach Into Commercial Banking Market Seattle Post Intelligencer p D1 In a deal that will both expand it geographically and diversify its lines of business Washington Mutual Inc said yesterday it has an agreement to buy Western Bank of Coos Bay Ore Western Bank has 41 offices in 33 Oregon communities so the acquisition will add to Washington Mutual s 72 branches in that state It also adds 20 towns Washington Mutual isn t already in Washington Mutual is already the leading residential real estate lender in Oregon But the deal also increases Washington Mutual s reach into the commercial banking market Washington Mutual has traditionally emphasized the thrift business which means home mortgage and consumer loans Western being a commercial bank focuses on lending to small and medium sized businesses Commercial banking is a business Washington Mutual has been increasingly interested in Last month it wrapped up a deal to acquire the 90 percent of Bellevue s Enterprise Bank it didn t already own Like Enterprise Western Bank will continue to operate under its existing name and management Manning Jeff October 14 1995 Seattle Thrift Says It Will Buy Western The Oregonian p C07 Washington Mutual Inc said it intends to acquire Coos Bay based Western Bank for between 144 million and 169 million If it completes its surprise purchase Washington Mutual will jump past Bank of America and Key Bank to become the third largest bank in Oregon in both deposits 2 6 billion and the number of branches 114 Most of Western s 41 branches are in Southern Oregon It has only a single branch in the metropolitan area in Beaverton Washington Mutual on the other hand has 42 branches in and around Portland a b Washington Mutual Deal For Oregon Bank Completed Seattle Times February 1 1996 Washington Mutual principally a savings bank company says it has completed the acquisition of Western Bank of Coos Bay Ore a commercial bank Western will be part of Washington Mutual s commercial banking group Western has 42 offices in 35 Oregon communities Its assets total 787 million a b Goldfield Robert June 3 2001 Wamu to scrap Western Bank brand Portland Business Journal Stiles Greg November 7 2001 Washington Mutual replaces Western Bank signs Mail Tribune Archived from the original on March 23 2017 Retrieved March 23 2017 Western Bank once a model of community banking will disappear from the state s landscape this weekend Workers are changing signs at 30 of the bank s remaining 31 branches The branches will close Friday and re open Tuesday as Washington Mutual offices The exception is the 300 E Main St branch in Medford that will be abandoned Klamath First buys Western Bank branches Portland Business Journal May 29 2001 Linker Ray September 27 2001 Klamath First Opens Doors In La Grande La Grande Observer Washington Mutual Plans Inroads Into Southwest Idaho Seattle Times March 11 1994 p E4 Washington Mutual will expand into Southwest Idaho as its federal savings bank subsidiary builds the Boise area s first full service bank branches inside Fred Meyer stores Washington Mutual Plans Boise Offices Seattle Post Intelligencer March 11 1994 p E5 Washington Mutual Savings Bank said yesterday it plans to open a loan office and three in store branches in the Boise area this year its first venture into that market Seattle based Washington Mutual already operates 68 in store locations in Washington and Oregon in addition to 162 free standing branches The Idaho branches will open in July and August and will be located in Fred Meyer stores Washington Mutual to Expand Into Idaho With Boise s First In Store Bank Branches PR Newswire Press release March 10 1994 Archived from the original on April 20 2017 Retrieved April 20 2017 via The Free Library Neurath Peter July 29 1994 Bag a loan with your groceries Opportunities aplenty Puget Sound Business Journal Vol 15 no 11 p 20 Washington Mutual Savings Bank recently opened two in store Boise branches and plans to open a third early next month all inside Fred Meyer stores Link subscription required via ProQuest Business On The Move Lewiston Morning Tribune February 26 1995 Washington Mutual will open its new Moscow Financial Center Monday inside the Rosauers grocery at 409 N Main St The Moscow bank is the Seattle based company s first venture into northern Idaho although it has three other branches in the state a b Meanwhile in Utah Salt Lake Tribune January 17 1997 p B4 Washington Mutual Inc Seattle Wednesday completed its acquisition of United Western Financial Group Inc of Salt Lake City Plans to acquire the privately held company and its subsidiaries which include United Savings Bank and Western Mortgage Loan Corp were announced in early September The final purchase price paid in cash was approximately 79 5 million Conversion of deposit accounts is expected to take place around midyear with loan accounts to follow United Savings Bank operated nine branches seven of them in the Salt Lake City area The other two offices are in St George and Idaho Falls Carlson Brad March 27 2000 WAMU grows via stand alone branches The Idaho Business Review Vol 19 no 21 p A1 Among big banks serving southwest Idaho Seattle based Washington Mutual seems unique in that it is growing the old fashioned way by constructing standalone branch offices In the early 1990s Washington Mutual entered the southwest Idaho market with branches inside area Fred Meyer grocery and department stores WAMU has nine offices of various types in the Boise area Link subscription required via ProQuest Nance Jesse June 18 2009 Washington Mutual locations convert to Chase branches Idaho Press Tribune Washington Mutual to Buy Olympus Capital New York Times July 26 1994 Virgin Bill July 26 1994 Bank Gets Toehold In Utah Washington Mutual Buys Olympus Capital Seattle Post Intelligencer p B6 Washington Mutual Savings Bank said yesterday it is joining the parade of banks and thrifts marching into Utah by buying an eight office company in the Beehive State Along with the acquisition come two branches in Butte Mont another new state for Washington Mutual But Chairman Kerry Killinger said he doesn t know yet whether Washington Mutual will keep expand or sell that operation Washington Mutual will pay about 52 1 million in stock for Olympus Capital Corp the holding company for Olympus Bank The deal should be closed by early 1995 Olympus operates five branches in Salt Lake City two in Ogden and one in Provo Washington Mutual Absorbs Olympus The Spokesman Review May 2 1995 Washington Mutual To Buy Utah Savings Bank Seattle Times March 2 1996 Washington Mutual Acquires Utah Federal Savings Seattle Post Intelligencer March 2 1996 p B3 Washington Mutual Inc said it has signed an agreement to acquire Utah Federal Savings Bank based in Ogden Utah Federal with 122 6 million in assets has five branches and three loan offices Washington Mutual already has 16 branches and one loan office in the state having moved into Utah in 1995 Washington Mutual didn t give a purchase price for Utah Federal which isn t a publicly traded company Wash Mutual Completes Utah Federal Savings Deal Seattle Times December 2 1996 p E6 Washington Mutual said it completed the acquisition of Ogden based Utah Federal Savings Bank Washington Mutual acquired the Utah bank for 43 79 a share or 15 2 million With Utah Federal Washington Mutual operates 19 branches and four home loan centers in Utah Washington Mutual To Buy Utah s United Savings Bank Seattle Times September 9 1996 Washington Mutual to Buy United Western Financial New York Times September 10 1996 Washington Mutual Buys United Western Deseret News September 10 1996 Archived from the original on March 23 2017 Retrieved March 23 2017 Washington Mutual to Buy Western Financial In Utah Seattle Post Intelligencer September 10 1996 p B9 Washington Mutual Inc said it will add to its branch network in Utah with the acquisition of Western Financial Group Inc of Salt Lake City for 80 3 million in cash Western Financial is the parent of United Savings Bank with eight branches in Utah and one in Idaho and Western Mortgage Loan with seven offices in Utah Oregon Idaho Nevada and Montana Washington Mutual with 16 offices already in Utah also has a deal pending to acquire Utah Federal Savings in Ogden It said completing both deals would make Washington Mutual one of the largest residential mortgage lenders in the state Glacier Bancorp Inc and Mountain West Bank to Merge PR Newswire Press release September 10 1999 Glacier previously announced a definitive agreement to acquire two branches in Butte Montana from Washington Mutual Bank That deal is expected to close in October of 1999 and will add approximately 80 million in deposits Mergers amp Acquisitions History Glacier Bancorp Inc Archived from the original on April 20 2017 Retrieved April 20 2017 Vrana Debora amp Granelli James S July 23 1996 American Savings Sold to Seattle Thrift Los Angeles Times Hansell Saul July 23 1996 Washington Mutual Plans Expansion Into California New York Times Heberlein Greg July 22 1996 State Bank Goes Big Time Washington Mutual To Acquire California Bank Seattle Times Virgin Bill July 23 1996 Buyout to Double The Size Of Washington Mutual Seattle Post Intelligencer p B4 In an acquisition that will virtually double the size of the savings bank the day it is completed Seattle based Washington Mutual said it will acquire Keystone Holdings Inc and its subsidiary American Savings Bank of Irvine Calif in a stock deal worth about 1 4 billion based on yesterday s closing price In addition because American s loan portfolio is heavily weighted toward adjustable rate mortgages the acquisition helps Washington Mutual reduce its vulnerability to interest rate swings The third attraction for investors is the presence of billionaire investor Robert Bass who bought into American Savings when it was taken over by the government and reorganized in 1988 He assures me he has totally bought into the business plan We believe he will be a good long term shareholder Killinger said of Bass Bass will name two additional members to Washington Mutual s board although Killinger said it s not likely Bass himself will serve Washington Mutual already at 22 million in assets will grow to more than 42 million It already operates 248 branches in Washington Oregon Utah Idaho and Montana American Savings will add 158 branches in California A new shareholder in Washington Mutual will be the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp which as part of the bailout of American holds about a third of the company The FDIC is expected to sell those shares a b Adamson Deborah July 23 1996 American Savings Merging Washington Mutual to Strengthen Coastal Presence With Deal Los Angeles Daily News p B1 Washington Mutual Inc a Seattle financial services firm said Monday it will buy American Savings Bank and its parent company in a stock for stock transaction worth 3 5 billion Irvine based American Savings Bank will keep its name and officials said they expect all branches to remain open officials said Washington Mutual which owns a network of banks is the No 1 residential mortgage originator in Washington and Oregon American Savings is California s second largest home mortgage originator The deal gives Washington Mutual its first presence in California allowing an immediate foothold in key locations that will solidify its West Coast position Robert M Bass and his investor group control Keystone Holdings Inc of Fort Worth Texas the parent company of American Savings After the acquisition Keystone will be merged into Washington Mutual The investor group will get 26 million of the 48 million shares to be issued by Washington Mutual in the merger With total outstanding shares of 117 5 million the group s share amounts to a 22 percent ownership in the new company with Bass holding an 8 percent stake About 14 million of the new shares will go to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp which will sell them after the merger The rest will be held in escrow pending the outcome of a Keystone lawsuit against the federal government Washington Mutual also will assume Keystone s 365 million of debt and 80 million in outstanding preferred stock Mario Antoci American Savings chairman and CEO will retire after the deal closes Post merger management changes have not been finalized Antoci took over American Savings in 1988 when the Bass Group bought it American Savings Bank was originally part of American Savings and Loan a failed thrift that led to the largest savings and loan bailout in history The original thrift was divided into two parts American Savings Bank controlled the profitable assets and loans while the other unit was liquidated American Savings Bank has 220 branches in California and Arizona Washington Mutual has 317 branches in Washington Oregon Idaho Utah and Montana Fuquay Jim July 23 1996 Bass group bonanza Keystone Holdings sells a California thrift in a deal valued at 1 6 billion Fort Worth Star Telegram p 1 An investment group led by Fort Worth billionaire Robert M Bass cashed in on a 400 million investment in California s American Savings yesterday selling the thrift it acquired less than eight years ago The deal was valued at more than 1 6 billion Washington Mutual Inc the parent of one of Washington state s largest savings banks agreed to acquire the thrift for at least 40 million shares of Washington Mutual stock That stock was worth slightly more than 1 2 billion at Friday s closing price Washington Mutual will also assume 465 million in debt as part of the deal Bass made his investment through Keystone Holdings in which he owns about 36 percent In 1988 Keystone acquired American Savings from the federal government which had seized the thrift in 1984 Keystone invested 350 million in cash into American Savings and spent another 50 million in expenses to buy the institution which at the time was America s biggest insolvent thrift Keystone installed Mario J Antoci a respected thrift executive to run American Savings The thrift stripped of its most troubled assets immediately started making money The Keystone group will also name two members of Washington Mutual s 13 person board suggesting that the group is likely to retain its interest in the company Irvine Bank Sold Los Angeles Times December 20 1996 American Savings Sale Completed Los Angeles Times December 24 1996 Washington Mutual completes acquisition of Irvine based American Savings Bank Orange County Register December 24 1996 p c02 Washington Mutual Inc said Monday that it has completed its 2 05 billion acquisition of American Savings Bank American California s second biggest mortgage lender will continue to operate under its old name The merger doubles the size of Seattle based Washington Mutual The combined bank has 43 billion in assets 24 billion in deposits and 500 branches in nine Western states Washington Mutual which had no presence in California before the merger will seek more acquisitions in the state Washington Mutual Biggest Thrift With California Deal Seattle Times December 23 1996 p E2 Washington Mutual completed its 2 05 billion acquisition of Irvine Calif based American Savings Bank giving the Seattle institution a major presence in California Washington Mutual bought American Savings from majority holder Keystone Holdings and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp which has owned a stake in American for eight years The acquisition creates an institution with assets of 43 billion deposits of 24 billion and more than 500 offices in nine Western states Hansell Saul February 18 1997 Ahmanson Sets A 5 8 Billion Hostile Bid for Great Western New York Times Olmos David R amp Petruno Tom February 18 1997 Ahmanson Proposes to Join Great Western Merger Unsolicited 6 billion offer by Home Savings parent would create state s third biggest finance institution Los Angeles Times Hoping to marry the nation s two largest savings and loans into a financial powerhouse the corporate parent of Home Savings of America has offered to buy Great Western Financial Corp in a deal valued at nearly 6 billion sources close to the proposed transaction said late Monday The unsolicited offer by Irwindale based H F Ahmanson amp Co would form the third largest financial institution in California after giant Bank of America and Wells Fargo It would also result in the closure of more than 100 bank branches and the probable loss of hundreds of jobs sources said Great Western Spurns Ahmanson Courts Rival Suitors Seattle Post Intelligencer February 22 1997 p B8 Great Western Financial Corp sought to buy time to fend off H F Ahmanson and Co s 6 2 billion takeover bid yesterday as its bankers met with potential rival suitors sources close to Great Western said Sources said possible bidders that Great Western may have contacted include First Bank System Inc Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Norwest Corp Local banking executives and analysts said Washington Mutual is likely to take a close look at a deal for Great Western and said there are equally strong reasons why the Seattle based thrift might bid or walk away On the negative side Washington Mutual is currently digesting a major California acquisition a hurry up deal wouldn t give it time to carefully review the transaction it wouldn t get the same cost savings Ahmanson would to make the deal attractive and a bidding war could become expensive Virgin Bill March 7 1997 Washington Mutual Puts Money on California Offer for Great Western Is Valued at 6 6 Billion Seattle Post Intelligencer p A1 Washington Mutual Inc yesterday said it has agreed on a stock deal to acquire Great Western Financial Corp of Chatsworth Calif in a combination that would create an 87 4 billion behemoth the 12th largest financial institution in the country Under the terms of the agreement Washington Mutual will swap nine tenths of a share of its stock for each share of Great Western an offer worth about 6 6 billion based on yesterday s closing prices Hansell Saul March 7 1997 Great Western Accepts Rival Takeover Bid New York Times Great Western Financial moving to thwart a hostile takeover offer by H F Ahmanson amp Company said yesterday that it had agreed to be acquired by Washington Mutual for stock worth 6 6 billion in a deal that would create the country s largest savings and loan institution Brooks Nancy Rivera amp Mulligan Thomas S March 7 1997 Thrift Launches White Knight Bid for Great Western Banking Takeover by Washington Mutual in 6 6 billion deal would create the nation s largest S amp L But locally based Ahmanson may raise its competing offer Los Angeles Times Lee Don March 18 1997 Ahmanson Raises Bid in Great Western War Thrifts The 6 79 billion offer is higher than Seattle suitor s but no knockout blow analysts say Close vote looms Los Angeles Times Great Western Turns Down New 7 Billion Ahmanson Bid Finance Analyst says rejection comes as no surprise and that consent solicitation is a more important step Los Angeles Times March 27 1997 Stavro Barry June 14 1997 Shareholders Approve Great Western Merger Bank Nation s largest thrift will result from deal with Washington Mutual pending federal agencies sanction Los Angeles Times Washington Mutual Wraps Up Great Western Deal Los Angeles Daily News July 3 1997 p B1 Washington Mutual Inc completed its 8 billion acquisition of Chatsworth based Great Western Financial Corp on Wednesday making it the largest savings and loan in the United States and expanding its presence in the resurgent California market With the combination Seattle based Washington Mutual creates one of the biggest thrifts in the West with 88 5 billion in assets 52 5 billion in deposits and more than 1 150 branches in Washington Oregon California and Florida The acquisition of Great Western the second largest U S thrift also bolsters Washington Mutual s reputation as one of the most aggressive acquirers in the industry Washington Mutual has completed 22 acquisitions and multiplied its assets more than twentyfold in 14 years Virgin Bill July 3 1997 Washington Mutual Still Scans Horizon for Deals Seattle Post Intelligencer p B5 Washington Mutual Inc which yesterday became the largest savings institution in the country could be ready to do a deal for another thrift in nine months or less the company s chief executive said in an interview yesterday Seattle based Washington Mutual doubled its size to 90 billion in assets by buying Great Western Financial Corp just months after the purchase of another California thrift doubled Washington Mutual to more than 40 billion in assets Now comes the job of absorbing Great Western a task complicated by the fact that this deal makes Washington Mutual a true coast to coast institution with the addition of branches in Florida Vrana Debora December 18 1997 2 Thrifts Will be Renamed Banking American Savings Great Western signage will be changed to Washington Mutual Los Angeles Times Metcalfe Coll November 14 1997 Great Western Bank Branch to Be Closed Los Angeles Times Wilcox Gregory J November 14 1997 Great Western American Savings Riding Into The Sunset Name Change May Follow 85 Branch Closings Los Angeles Daily News p B1 Ridding itself of overlapping operations a Seattle based thrift said Thursday it would close 85 Great Western and American Savings Bank branches in California and may eventually drop those two nameplates Washington Mutual will have 365 branches in California after the closures are completed next year most of them in the second quarter They will retain their nameplate either Great Western or American Savings depending on the branch for the time being But Washington Mutual officials are rethinking their earlier decision to keep the Great Western name said Great Western spokesman Tim McGarry Geczi Michael March 6 1997 Washington Mutual to combine with Great Western through stock merger Business Wire Press release p 1 In a move that would significantly expand Washington Mutual Inc s position in California Washington Mutual Nasdaq WAMU and Great Western Financial Corporation NYSE GWF today jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement Link subscription required via ProQuest Vrana Debora amp Peltz James F March 18 1998 Home Savings to Be Acquired in 10 1 Billion Deal Banking Merger with Washington Mutual the nation s biggest thrift would mean branch closures and up to 3 500 lost jobs mostly in Southern California Los Angeles Times O Brien Timothy L March 18 1998 Biggest S amp L s In Merger Deal Of 9 9 Billion New York Times Virgin Bill March 18 1998 Washington Mutual to Buy H F Ahmanson It ll Become 7th Largest U S Bank Seattle Post Intelligencer p A1 n a deal that will make an already big bank a huge one Seattle based Washington Mutual Inc said yesterday it will acquire H F Ahmanson amp Co in a stock deal worth about 10 billion The merger will also mean closing 160 to 170 branches and eliminating 3 000 to 3 500 jobs almost entirely in California Washington S amp L Completes Ahmanson Deal Los Angeles Times October 2 1998 Washington Mutual Ahmanson to Merge Business Wire Press release March 17 1998 p 1 Washington Mutual Inc Nasdaq WAMU and H F Ahmanson amp Company NYSE AHM today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Washington Mutual to acquire Ahmanson in a tax free exchange of common stock The merger will create the nation s seventh largest banking company based on total 1997 year end assets of nearly 150 billion Link subscription required via ProQuest King Ralph T Jr March 18 1998 Washington Mutual to Buy Ahmanson Value of Stock Swap Plan Is Put at 10 03 Billion More Consolidation Seen Wall Street Journal p 1 Archived from the original on April 15 2017 Retrieved July 7 2017 Washington Mutual Inc agreed to acquire H F Ahmanson amp Co in a stock swap valued at 10 03 billion or 81 69 a share a transaction that would combine the nation s two largest thrift companies The combined entity is to retain the Washington Mutual name and headquarters in Seattle Washington Mutual plans to eliminate 40 of Ahmanson s annual costs or about 330 million by the year 2000 closing up to 170 branches and laying off as many as 3 500 employees Ahmanson is based in Irwindale Calif The deal code named Project Grand Slam by Washington Mutual came together with startling speed More than 60 Washington Mutual advisers registered under assumed names at the Doubletree Hotel in Pasadena Calif where they pored over Ahmanson s books according to Philip Erlanger of Lehman Brothers which advised Washington Mutual Alternate Link subscription required via ProQuest Pulliam Liz October 7 1998 Home Savings Buyer to Close 161 Calif Offices Mergers Three of the S amp L s landmark branches are included in Washington Mutual s consolidation Los Angeles Times WaMu to Close Calif Outlets Seattle Times October 6 1998 p E5 Seattle based Washington Mutual the largest U S savings and loan said it will close 161 branches in California next year to combine outlets too close to each other after its purchase of Home Savings of America The Seattle based financial services company said 82 of the branches are Home Savings offices and 79 are Washington Mutual offices The news follows the completion last week of Washington Mutual s acquisition of Irwindale Calif based H F Ahmanson amp Co parent of Home Savings for 6 9 billion Washington Mutual Agrees to Acquire Bank United New York Times August 22 2000 Virgin Bill August 22 2000 Bank s Eyes Are Upon Texas Washington Mutual Plans to Buy Houston s Bank United Corp Which Will Provide 155 Branches Seattle Post Intelligencer p C1 Washington Mutual Inc looking to make itself as much a major player in Texas banking as it is in Washington and California yesterday said it will buy a Houston based company in a 1 5 billion stock deal Seattle based Washington Mutual will acquire Bank United Corp the largest publicly traded Texas based financial institution Texas was something of an incidental market Washington Mutual picked up in its 1998 acquisition of H F Ahmanson amp Co while the real prize in the Ahmanson deal was its huge share of the market in California it also had 48 branches in Texas primarily in Houston and Dallas Bank United will provide that with 155 branches including 66 in Houston 77 in Dallas Fort Worth and a handful in Midland Austin and San Antonio Fuquay Jim August 22 2000 Bank United says yes to buyout Washington Mutual to pay 1 5 billion in merger deal Fort Worth Star Telegram p 1 Bank United the largest financial institution based in Texas said yesterday that it agreed to be acquired by Washington Mutual the nation s biggest savings and loan The deal valued at 1 5 billion and expected to close by year s end will greatly increase Washington Mutual s presence in the state The Seattle based institution entered Texas in 1998 with its acquisition of H F Ahmanson amp Co parent of Savings of America and the Bank United merger will give it 3 percent of Texas deposits according to June 30 1999 reports the latest available Washington Mutual which ranks No 8 among all U S banks and thrifts also has a previous Texas connection In 1995 it acquired American Savings a California thrift owned by Fort Worth investor Robert M Bass who became a major Washington Mutual shareholder as a result of that deal A Bass lieutenant Jay Crandall remains on Washington Mutual s board of directors Bank United has 155 retail branches in the state including 77 in North Texas along with 42 commercial loan offices and 11 other sales offices Washington Mutual has 48 branches in Texas including two in Tarrant County About a dozen Texas branches share overlapping market areas the companies said That includes downtown Fort Worth where two branches are within blocks of each other Washington Mutual and Bank United Holding Companies Merge Banking Subsidiaries Expected to Merge on Tuesday Press release Washington Mutual February 9 2001 Business Briefing Financial merger completed San Diego Union Tribune February 14 2001 pp C 2 Washington Mutual Inc of Seattle completed its 2 17 billion merger with Houston based Bank United Corp More than 200 retail United Bank branches in Texas will be converted over the next few weeks to branches of Washington Mutual which operates more than 1 100 retail branches in seven Western states and Florida Greer Jim December 17 2000 Merger with Washington Mutual will trim Bank United branches Houston Business Journal After finalizing the acquisition of locally based Bank United Corp Washington Mutual Inc plans to close about 10 Houston area branches from the combined operation including Bank United s corporate headquarters sources say Buggs Shannon February 14 2001 Merged bank planning to close 17 state branches Houston Chronicle p 1 Bank United and Washington Mutual on Tuesday identified 17 Texas bank branches that will close this summer as part of the recently completed merger of the two institutions Dime Bancorp Bought by Nation s Largest S amp L New York Times June 26 2001 Giant thrift to acquire Dime Bancorp Chicago Tribune June 26 2001 Business Briefs WaMu wraps up purchase of N Y based Dime Bancorp Seattle Times January 8 2002 p F2 Washington Mutual completed its 5 2 billion cash and stock purchase of Dime Bancorp giving the largest U S savings and loan an entry into the New York market By purchasing Dime Seattle based Washington Mutual gains more than 120 branches in New York and New Jersey Leading Thrift to Buy Northeast s Dime Bancorp Financial services Washington Mutual agrees to acquire New York company for 5 3 billion in stock cash Los Angeles Times June 25 2001 Dime had 14 billion of deposits in New York and New Jersey at the end of last year Neurath Peter July 25 1997 As WaMu grows so does the challenge for Jewell Puget Sound Business Journal Vol 18 no 11 p 7 Washington Mutual broke into the commercial lending business with the August 1995 acquisition of Enterprise Bank in Bellevue A few months later it signed an agreement to buy Western Bank in Coos Bay Ore The two banks have been consolidated under the name of Western Bank Jewell hired on in January 1996 Link subscription required via ProQuest a b Virgin Bill January 28 1999 Tiny Step to A Giant Market Washington Mutual Buys Business Bank Seattle Post Intelligencer p C1 It was so small a deal that Washington Mutual Inc didn t even bother putting out an announcement about it For a company with 166 billion in assets and offices from coast to coast the acquisition of Industrial Bank of Van Nuys Calif which has one office and 30 million in assets created hardly a ripple But the significance of the acquisition was not in the numbers or Washington Mutual wouldn t have bothered making it For Washington Mutual Industrial Bank is a way to boost its often overlooked but growing commercial banking business in California Washington Mutual Expands Buys Van Nuys Calif Branch Seattle Times January 29 1999 p C6 Hoping to further expand its business banking operations in California Seattle based Washington Mutual has acquired Industrial Bank a 30 million institution with one branch in Van Nuys Washington Mutual agrees to purchase Long Beach Financial Puget Sound Business Journal May 19 1999 Washington Mutual and Long Beach Financial Announce Definitive Agreement Combination to Expand Washington Mutual s Specialty Mortgage Finance Business Accelerate Growth at Long Beach Mortgage Company PR Newswire Press release May 19 1999 Acquisition of Long Beach Financial a Wrap Los Angeles Times October 2 1999 Puzzanghera Jim amp Reckard E Scott April 13 2010 Washington Mutual created mortgage time bomb Senate panel says The failed bank made subprime loans it knew were likely to go bad and then packaged them into risky securities investigators say Los Angeles Times Washington Mutual Buys Correspondent National Mortgage News January 31 2000 Archived from the original on April 22 2017 via Highbeam Research PNC to Sell Its Residential Mortgage Business to Washington Mutual PR Newswire Press release October 2 2000 PNC sells mortgage unit Washington Mutual buys residential loan portfolio for 605M cash CNN October 2 2000 Washington Mutual Completes Acquisition of PNC Mortgage Press release Washington Mutual February 1 2001 Archived from the original on August 28 2019 Retrieved April 21 2017 WAMU in Fleet unit buy With 660M cash purchase of Fleet unit WAMU is No 2 mortgage firm CNN April 2 2001 Washington Mutual completes Fleet Mortgage purchase Puget Sound Business Journal June 1 2001 Gaylord Becky December 13 2001 National Australia Sells Assets to Washington Mutual New York Times Gordon Mark December 12 2001 HomeSide Lending sold for 1 9 billion Jacksonville staff expected to keep jobs Florida Times Union Archived from the original on April 22 2017 Retrieved April 21 2017 Washington Mutual Completes Acquisition of PNC Mortgage Press release Washington Mutual March 1 2002 Archived from the original on August 28 2019 Retrieved April 21 2017 Washington Mutual buys HomeSide Savings amp loan purchases portfolio for 1 3B cash 735M debt sees buy accretive to 2002 earnings CNN August 28 2002 Washington Mutual Completes Acquisition of PNC Mortgage Press release Washington Mutual October 1 2002 permanent dead link U S Bank Agrees to Purchase Bay View Bank Retail Branches PR Newswire Press release July 22 2002 Archived from the original on April 23 2017 Retrieved April 23 2017 Bay View Announces Sale of Commercial and Multifamily Loans To Washington Mutual PR Newswire Press release August 12 2002 Washington Mutual to Acquire Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc Deal Strengthens WaMu s Commercial and Retail Banking Businesses Business Wire Press release April 23 2006 WaMu to pay 983M for Commercial Capital MarketWatch April 24 2006 WaMu Completes Acquisition of Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc Business Wire Press release October 2 2006 Dash Eric June 6 2001 Washington Mutual to Buy Providian for 6 45 Billion New York Times DeSilver Drew June 6 2005 Washington Mutual to buy Providian in 6 45 billion deal Seattle Times Credit Cards Washington Mutual Archived from the original on June 8 2001 Credit cards issued by Associates National Bank Credit Cards Washington Mutual Archived from the original on January 14 2002 Retrieved January 31 2020 Credit cards issued by Associates National Bank Credit Cards Washington Mutual Archived from the original on June 8 2003 Retrieved January 31 2020 Credit cards issued by Citibank South Dakota N A Dash Eric June 6 2005 Washington Mutual to Buy Providian for 6 45 Billion New York Times a b c Goodman Peter S amp Morgenson Gretchen December 27 2008 By Saying Yes WaMu Built Empire on Shaky Loans New York Times pp A1 Retrieved December 28 2008 Hester Elizabeth December 10 2007 Washington Mutual to Take Writedown Slash Dividend Bloomberg News Archived from the original on November 4 2012 Retrieved September 26 2008 DeSilver Drew April 9 2008 7 billion gives shaky WaMu firmer footing for now The Seattle Times Retrieved September 26 2008 WaMu Strips CEO Killinger of Chair Title TheStreet com June 2 2008 Archived from the original on February 4 2013 Retrieved September 26 2008 Barr Alistair September 8 2008 WaMu replaces CEO signs agreement with regulator Market Watch Retrieved September 27 2008 a b Washington Mutual stock trend Google Finance Archived from the original on August 20 2007 Retrieved September 27 2008 a b OTS press release announcing WaMu s seizure Press release Office of Thrift Supervision September 25 2008 Archived from the original on November 4 2008 JPMorgan Chase Acquires Banking Operations of Washington Mutual Press release FDIC September 25 2008 Stathis Mike October 7 2008 Formal Complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission Regarding Allegations of Insider Trading and Suspicious Events Underlying the Seizure of Washington Mutual PDF Apex Venture Advisors Stathis Mike October 27 2009 WaMu One Year Later and Still No Indictments AVA Investment Analytics Archived from the original on October 4 2009 Retrieved June 19 2013 Stathis Mike October 18 2009 WaMu Insider Trading amp Naked Short Selling AVA Investment Analytics Archived from the original on October 22 2009 Retrieved June 19 2013 Washington Mutual crime of the century wamucoup com Archived from the original on January 2 2010 a b Register and be counted wamurape org Archived from the original on September 6 2011 Retrieved January 3 2009 WaMu Gives New CEO Mega Payout as Bank Fails Fox News September 26 2008 Archived from the original on December 5 2008 Retrieved September 27 2008 Virgin Bill August 8 2008 Cantwell seeks explanation of WaMu seizure by feds Seattle Post Intelligencer Retrieved January 3 2009 Washington Mutual sold to JPMorgan Chase after FDIC seizure KING TV September 26 2008 Archived from the original on September 26 2008 Retrieved September 26 2008 DeSilver Drew September 26 2008 Feds seize WaMu in nation s largest bank failure Seattle Times Retrieved September 26 2008 Washington Mutual Inc Files Chapter 11 Case Press release Washington Mutual Inc September 26 2008 Retrieved September 27 2008 via Business Wire a b FDIC Bank Acquisition Information for Washington Mutual Bank Henderson NV and Washington Mutual Bank FSB Park City UT Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Ellis David amp Sahadi Jeanne September 25 2008 JPMorgan buys WaMu CNN Washington Mutual Accounts After JPMorgan Chase Acquisition Washington Mutual Online Banking blog October 3 2008 Archived from the original on February 4 2009 Church Steven January 24 2009 Washington Mutual Owes 12 5 Billion in Back Taxes U S Claims Bloomberg News Archived from the original on November 5 2012 New Deal Will Allow Washington Mutual Inc To Resolve Bankruptcy JPM Benzinga March 12 2010 Retrieved June 19 2013 WaMu Sues FDIC for 13 Billion Over Bank Failure CNBC March 21 2009 Retrieved March 21 2009 permanent dead link The case is Washington Mutual Inc v Federal Deposit Insurance Corp U S District Court for the District of Columbia No 09 00533 Grind Kirsten January 28 2010 Big day for WaMu shareholders Puget Sound Business Journal United States Bankruptcy Court District Of Delaware Minute Entry PDF Report United States Bankruptcy Court January 28 2010 via Kurtzman Carson Consultants UPDATE 2 US judge appoints WaMu examiner shareholders win Reuters July 20 2010 Dye Jessica July 26 2010 McKenna Long Partner Tapped To Probe WaMu Deal Law360 Retrieved June 19 2013 Chase Randall August 10 2010 Judge denies WaMu attempt to get shareholder data The Seattle Times Archived copy Forbes Archived from the original on January 5 2011 Retrieved September 18 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link UPDATE 3 Judge rejects WaMu s reorganization plan Reuters January 8 2011 Duhigg Charles amp Lattman Peter September 14 2011 Judge Says Hedge Funds May Have Used Inside Information The New York Times Washington Mutual Inc Announces Confirmation of Plan of Reorganization PR Newswire Press release February 17 2012 DeSilver Drew February 4 2012 Tiny shred of bankrupt WaMu emerging to uncertain future More than three years after Washington Mutual became the nation s largest bank failure a thin sliver of the company could soon emerge from bankruptcy and offer shareholders a small chance at recouping some value Seattle Times WaMu exits bankruptcy on heels of Lehman Reuters March 19 2012 Grunbaum Rami January 5 2015 Washington Mutual shell raises 598M to hunt for acquisitions Seattle Times Scharf Charlie February 26 2009 2009 Investor Day Presentation Retail Financial Services PDF Report JPMorgan Chase p 28 Archived from the original PDF on March 4 2009 Retrieved February 26 2009 Welcome WaMu JPMorgan Chase Bank Archived from the original on October 3 2008 Yerak Becky January 19 2009 Chase to close 57 WaMu branches here Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on February 19 2009 a b Newman Eric February 13 2008 WaMu Wants Customers Yelling Whoo Hoo Adweek Archived from the original on February 14 2008 Retrieved September 3 2008 a b c Are Consumers Going Whoo Hoo Over WaMu s New Campaign Seeking Alpha May 19 2008 Retrieved September 3 2008 a b Guzman Monica March 11 2008 WaMu s Whoo hoo campaign Blame The Simpsons Seattle Post Intelligencer Retrieved September 21 2008 WHOO HOO application no 77 357 506 U S Patent and Trademark Office December 20 2007 Occasio Overview Press release Washington Mutual Archived from the original on November 10 2006 Retrieved June 25 2009 Torres Blanca July 2 2004 WaMu seeks patent for its banking stores The Seattle Times Retrieved June 25 2009 Curtin Karen Conway Mark J Link Jeffrey C Nelson David W Turner Ronald A Oppenheimer Deanna W amp Smith Scott A January 27 2004 United States Patent 6681985 System for providing enhanced systems management such as in branch banking United States Patent Office Archived from the original on March 14 2017 Retrieved June 25 2009 Virgin Bill December 4 2008 JPMorgan Chase to change look of WaMu branches Seattle Post Intelligencer Retrieved June 25 2009 External links editOfficial website Archive Washington Mutual Inc History FundingUniverse History 1889 2002 Washington Mutual 2008 Archived from the original on June 12 2008 Acquisition History 1987 2006 Washington Mutual 2008 Archived from the original on September 29 2008 list also includes pre merger acquisitions by American Savings Archived WaMu News Releases 2001 2008 Archived Washington Mutual Annual Reports 1966 2007 via University of Washington Libraries high resolution binaries large file sizes Archived Washington Mutual Annual Reports 1999 2006 Washington Mutual 2007 Archived from the original on July 16 2007 mostly ASCII pdf or html small file sizes Status of Washington Mutual Bank Receivership Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation August 24 2016 settlement of bankruptcy and related lawsuits Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Washington Mutual amp oldid 1205986014 American Savings, 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