Washington Mutual's failure sets a record for the largest bank failure ever. With rumors of weakness spreading, WaMu customers mad a run on the bank. They drained 9% of bank assets after Lehman declared bankruptcy.
The move is unique because it was announced after yesterday's market close. Bank failures are typically announced on Fridays ("FDIC Fridays"), but regulators felt the need to get it done sooner.
Washington Mutual account holders (myself included - I didn't yank my account because I know my money is safe) will be able to use their accounts as normal. I just logged in, and the only thing I noticed was a message on the login screen: "Welcome to JP Morgan Chase".
Further reading:
Wonder how many of those deposits that were withdrawn during the bank run were over the FDIC insured limits? Might be a good reason for banks to encourage depositors to keep under the FDIC limits. Those depositors would be less likely to cause a bank run.
Good point – it would be a nice customer service gesture to give a friendly reminder. In addition, they’d reduce bank runs.
I doubt that the banks would have lost much revenue by providing this service. Everybody wins.
I have been dealing with WAMU since 2005. After the loss of my job they have been the worse to deal with as far as getting my loan modified. Huh, wasnt that the “help” that Obama and all banks were advertising on their websites??? Now that Chase has taken over I’m still trying to get my loan modified since June of 2008. They have given me the runaround. Everytime they tell me its going to be done poof…awwww something came up and they have to start all over again……Why advertise the help if consumers are spending so much time on the phone with them trying to get help, and all you get are first time employees that treat you like SH*% and transfer you from one CSR to another…….