Biggest Banking Failure in US

Wasington Mutual(WaMu) is in limelight once again but due to bankruptcy this time, Federal regulators seized the largest American Savings and loan institution and brokered an emergency sale of it's assets to JPMorganChase for US$ 1.9 billion.

also read : Economic rescession of 2008 - article

Some key points of the story are as follows:

• Assets worth US$307billion, WaMu was largest savings and loans bank and sixth largest US bank behind Bank of America, JPMorgan, Wachovia, Wells fargo and Citibank.
• Wamu's seizure is the biggest bank failure in US history, previous largest failure was Continental illinois, which had about US$40 billion in assets when it failed in 1984.
• JpMorgan becomes largest US bank with US$900 billion in deposits, it will acquire all the banking operations of Washington Mutual, including $307 billion in assets and US$ 188 billion in deposits.
• JPmorgan will pay $1.9 billion to the US Federal Deposit insurance Corporation.
• It is JPmorgan's second major purchase of the year after the pyrchase of Bear sterns in mid-march of 2008. Facing $19 billion of losses on soured mortagage loans, the lender put itself up for sale last week.
• Washington Mutual customers withdrew $16.7 billion from accounts since september 16.

also read : Economic rescession of 2008 - article