4 ms·
WaMu Fails. First major comercial bank to go.
- m0digital 18y agoI had Chase when I lived in Chicago and when I moved out to SF there weren't any branches so I got Wamu. Sad to see Wamu go. I wonder what will happen to my awesome savings account interest rates.
- amrithk 18y agoThe branches are being acquired by Chase. Perhaps the interest rates may be similar to what Chase offers.
- Shooter 18y agoIn Chicago, WaMu had much better business rates than Chase. I used Chase for some personal accounts because of ATMs, but WaMu for several business accounts.
- dkokelley 18y agoPerhaps the interest rates may be similar to what Chase offers Ouch, I hope not. Regular savings accounts are getting 0.10% - 1.95% depending on the type of account and balance. Compare to Wamu's 4% APY
- cstejerean 18y agoThat's because Chase is not desperate for cash.
- Shooter 18y agoI have a few WaMu accounts, and I just received several emails from them offering me a higher APY (4%) and 'holiday savings starting now' right before I clicked over to HN and saw this post. I've never gotten a promotional email from WaMu before, and then I suddenly get four in one day?! At first I thought it was a phishing scheme, but they're all legit emails. It also seems like AIG has increased their advertising for certain business units AFTER their recent plummet... I shudder to think about taxpayer money being used for new marketing campaigns to "bolster confidence."
- dkokelley 18y agoI actually have their savings account that earns me 4% APY. When I got it I earned 5%, and last month it was at only 3.75%. I'm planning on leaving it there under JPMorgan's rule unless they offer me less. From my reading (because I can't call it research yet), WaMu's fall was triggered/multiplied by a lot of withdrawals from their customers because of fears that this would happen (chicken/egg). In fact, $19 billion was supposedly withdrawn over the past few weeks, which put them under their loan ratio (banks must maintain a certain cash/loans ratio). Of course it now makes sense that they offer such a great interest rate - they needed the money! My concern now is what will happen to my interest rate?
- jrockway 18y agoChase's savings accounts are about 0.25% around here, so you'll probably get that. I recommend moving to ING Direct or similar.
- gaika 18y agoCheck more financial news at http://www.newmogul.com/ http://www.newmogul.com/ , founded by nickb.
- tptacek 18y agoYou can call them the "first major commercial bank to go", as if they're the ominous start of a trend --- and maybe they are, but weren't they also basically one of the ringleaders of the mortgage valuation debacle? Notice also (if you're a tea-leaf reader) that the WSJ and NYT stories on WaMu didn't end with "raises new and troubling questions" about some other big financial; WaMu was a festering infected band-aid waiting to be ripped off our carcass, just like Lehman. Is there another big one? Wachovia is the next-most exposed company, aren't they? And they're considered pretty strong.
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- kqr2 18y agohttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26wamu.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26wamu.html?_r=2&... The coolest part is that the CEO who has been on the job for LESS than 3 weeks will get paid $19.1 million. From the article: The company’s new chief executive, Alan H. Fishman, was in midair, flying from New York to Seattle at the time the deal was finally brokered, according to people briefed on the situation. Mr. Fishman, who has been on the job for less than three weeks, is eligible for $11.6 million in cash severance and will get to keep his $7.5 million signing bonus
- dcurtis 18y ago$7.5 million signing bonus? What kind of board of directors would approve such a retarded amount? The guy would have taken the CEO job without the bonus; it serves zero purpose to the shareholders to give him $7.5 million. Why don't companies base executive compensation on performance? Doesn't that seem logical?
- witten 18y agoIt seems logical, but the problem with basing executive compensation on company performance is that, in a public company, it just incentivizes the executives to chase quarterly profits at the expense of medium- to long-term goals. This means that executives will do anything they can to pump up quarterly numbers, especially if they know that their tenure at the helm of their company is fairly finite.
- dhimes 18y agoIn a public company, the pressure to chase quarterly profits exists anyway because of the shareholders. If company A does something of questionable morality or risk, but it nets their shareholders a lot of value, it gets hard for the executives at company B to say 'no' to the strategy, even if they know better. My suspicion is that this is why some companies start out as good and are later perceived as evil. The game changes once you have legal fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders. It seems to me that it can get very hard to defend your strategy of not maximizing profits when others around you are raking it in.
- vaksel 18y agowonder if they'll freeze the home equity lines
- dhimes 18y agoOurs was frozen by Citi.
- mattmaroon 18y agoI just opened up a savings account and a checking account there yesterday. Hope the FDIC gives me my $10 back.
- tlrobinson 18y agoMy WaMu account currently has a whopping $4.84 in it ;) But in all seriousness, the FDIC arranged for JP to buy WaMu's deposits so they won't have to dip into (i.e. severely deplete) the FDIC insurance fund. Your WaMu account will just end up a Chase account in a few weeks/months. Just logged in my account and got this message: http://www.chase.com/welcomewamu/ http://www.chase.com/welcomewamu/
- floozyspeak 18y agoSeems to send the message its ok to go bankrupt cause the gov will bail you out, so wth, lets do it!
- ars 18y agoOK for who? It's not OK for the bank of the shareholders - they lost everything! The customers don't really care. So OK for who?
- steveplace 18y agoJust to let everyone know, Wells Fargo is the only bank in the U.S. that still holds an "Aaa" rating.
- LogicHoleFlaw 18y agoI just have to say... I love my credit union.
- steveplace 18y agoSome credit unions are having issues as well.
- smakz 18y agoYup, just pray it doesn't get rapidly downgraded like wamu, lehman, bears, AIG, etc.
- steveplace 18y agoI doubt it. It's been outperforming its sector since july. There might be other financial institutions to get downgraded, but WFC will be in the back of the line.
- apstuff 18y ago"Integrity is not a commodity. It’s the most rare and precious of personal attributes. It is the core of a person’s and a company’s reputation." -- Dick Kovacevich, Chairman of Wells Fargo Reuters: AIG's ex-CEO refuses $22 million severance payout. Have faith all. The core of the United States will persist.
- JesseAldridge 18y agoGood grief. Are we looking at another Great Depression here? I ask seriously. I don't know much about this economics jibber jabber, but I know that I sure have been seeing a lot of bad news lately...
- Retric 18y agoNo, a few rich people lost a lot of money and are looking for a helping hand by the US gov. but these company's are a small fraction of the US economy. In the end it's not vary important what the rich do as depressions are mostly about how the middle class react when things start to get bad.
- HeyLaughingBoy 18y ago/me wonders if this is a good time to start analyzing bank stocks to find a good buy...
- thomasmallen 18y agoAnd if other banks look like they'll fold, expect the government to throw more money at the problem than just FDIC insurance dough. A GOVERNMENT CANNOT CONTROL THE FREE MARKET. IT WILL ALWAYS FAIL. It's like a drunk trying to stay on the road who overcompensates for every mistake until he zooms into a ditch. Bad lenders and dim-witted/confused borrowers screw one another? Then dilute the dollar. "Borrow" a trillion fucking dollars that you don't have to sedate the market. Oh, that one will work great. I say, just let it be, before this thing spirals out of control. That $700B would do plenty to alleviate poverty for anyone who is, in fact, financially ruined by failing lenders. We'll let the entrenched poor rot for decades, but bail out the rich in a week. I'm outright disgusted. What can be done? I heard there was a small protest in NYC yesterday, maybe we'll have one in DC.
- ars 18y agoYou are very very badly informed! The bailout will mean a 100% loss for all the "rich" people. It's the "poor" that will win - they borrowed money, and don't have to pay it back.
- thomasmallen 18y agoAnd you're very shortsighted! As are many people who believe that throwing money at the problem is the answer. This will just allow these unscrupulous lenders to maintain business as usual (assuming the companies are re-sold a few years down the road, which is the plan). That $700B will have to come from somewhere, and that place is nowhere. This may be disastrous for the economy. And you misquoted me, leaving off "entrenched" in "entrenched poor." If you can buy a house, I have news for you, you are not a member of the entrenched poor. The middle and lower-middle classes were able to buy real estate like never before, and they will be bailed out. Why, I ask, is rescuing new homeowners a priority now, when the third-world poverty of the inner city and rust-belt country is viewed as some incurable ailment? We know damn well why: Because this coincides with saving the bankers' asses.
- ars 18y ago>This will just allow these unscrupulous lenders to maintain business as usual How will that happen when they won't exist anymore? >That $700B will have to come from somewhere No it won't. The number is the total debt the US would be on the hook for - if people pay off their loans, then the US won't have to spend any of it. What exactly do you want to do about the "entrenched poor"? Give them presents? This has nothing to do with them. I don't know if the bailout is a good idea or not, I haven't looked at it in detail, but it's not as bad as you are making it out to be.