Reply #23: From what I've read, it's the mortgage side of the company that brought it down -

[haele]

The commercial side was still pretty solvent and might be what will allow them to get a "buyer" for the merger they're looking for.
But it was mainly the mortgages - as usual, poor quality mortgages approved way too quickly with not enough "insurance" built in for those locations that were going through a difficult economy and turning a blind eye to flippers - all around poor management there - that brought this thrift down.

What is it about Republicans and "Savings and Loan/Thrift" type organizations that makes such a toxic economic package? WaMu was considered a "Savings and Thrift" corporation, not a bank proper.

Haele