WaMu is the largest bank to fail in US history

The FDIC seized Washington Mutuals deposits last night and within hours JPMorgan Chase announced the purchase of WaMu’s assets for $1.9 billion. For all you WaMu customers, this means you’ll soon be Chase customers.

“For all depositors and other customers of Washington Mutual Bank, this is simply a combination of two banks,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a statement. “For bank customers, it will be a seamless transition. There will be no interruption in services and bank customers should expect business as usual come Friday morning.”

This economy is tough to navigate. WaMu’s customers didn’t choose to be Chase customers. This is the consequence of consolidation. For all JPMorgan Chase stockholders, congrats! They are getting a great deal. JPMorgan Chase stock is up over 7% is premarket trading.

Coincidentally, they failed on the 119th anniversary of it’s founding in Seattle, Washington.

Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080926/washington_mutual_future.html

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSN2519733720080926