Maybe you can somehow forgive bankers for destroying our economy. But the lyrics of this rap, performed at a 2006 Washington Mutual "President's Club Dinner" in Hawaii, are unforgivable. They were revealed at a very awkward Senate hearing today.
JPMorgan Chase has started changing over the signage at branches of Washington Mutual to reflect its bargain-basement acquisition last fall. The sign outside the branch on Delancey hasn't been swapped out yet, though. Is JPMorgan looking to save a few bucks by not replacing the bulbs? Or is there some sort of coded…
If you see a bunch of glum-looking tellers tomorrow at your local Washington Mutual branch, there's a good reason for that: JPMorgan announced this afternoon that it plans to slash 20 percent of the bank's work force, or 9,200 jobs, following its acquisition of the bank in September. [CNN]
The video above documents a bit of vigilante art outside a Washington Mutual branch in California. We've yet to see any branches in New York get painted over with a mural illustrating the plunging price of WaMu stock during the month of October, but here's hoping! [GoAbove via Urban Prankster]
♦ The Dow's huge drop yesterday led to an massive sell-off overnight in Asia. What will happen today is anybody's guess. [Marketwatch]
♦ Citigroup reported a $2.8 billion loss for the third quarter. [WSJ]
♦ Merrill Lynch did even worse, reporting $5.2 billion in losses for the quarter. [Bloomberg]
♦ Citigroup isn't getting Wachovia after all: Just four days after the banks agreed to a deal, Wachovia has changed course and will now sell the company to Wells Fargo for $15.4 billion. [WSJ, NYT]
♦ The $700 billion bailout bill will reach the House for a vote today. This should be interesting. [NYT]
♦ JPMorgan…
"Unemployed and foreclosed male WaMu Teller Doll seeks position in your action figure collection. Includes cell phone, CAN! outfit, teller tote bag, trading card, and a handsome plastic dude with a permanent smile." Just three days left to grab a bit of banking history! Assuming, that is, our hunch is correct and…
It's not yet know whether the Washington Mutual on Avenue A in the East Village will be among 540 closed by acquirer JP Morgan Chase. But given that the WaMu's failure was the largest in U.S. history , the branch's signage could hardly have malfunctioned in a more appropriate fashion. (Thanks to the tipster who…
As someone who's designed and deployed plenty of email marketing campaigns, I have to feel for the poor sods who sent this electronic come-on to Washington Mutual customers today, as news broke that the Seattle-based bank's failure is the largest in our nation's history.Washington Mutual had $309.7 billion in assets,…
If you're a Washington Mutual customer and you're wondering what's going to happen now that your bank is defunct, your new bank (JP Morgan Chase!) would like you to know that it's already decided to wipe the WaMu brand off the face of the planet. WaMu branches will be rebranded, debit cards will be replaced, and your…
♦ All eyes are on Washington, of course, as lawmakers reconvene to try and hammer out a bailout. [Politico, NYT]
♦ J.P. Morgan Chase has agreed to pay $1.9 billion to the government for WaMu's banking operations and will take over the company's portfolio of loans. WaMu depositors will still have access to their…
As expected, Washington Mutual collapsed yesterday, making it the largest bank failure in U.S. history. JP Morgan Chase scooped up the company's assets, so if you were a WaMu customer, you'll be banking with Chase in the future. (Whoo hoo!) If you're a WaMu shareholder, however, you're totally out of luck. [CNNMoney, …
♦ President Bush urged Americans to support the $700 billion bailout during his televised address last night, the first time he's ever devoted a primetime speech to the economy. Meanwhile, thousands of politicians continue to clash over the specifics. [NYT]
♦ Warren Buffet was drinking a cherry coke and eating mixed…
♦ The world's major central banks teamed together to flood the markets with dollars as part of an effort to contain the unfolding financial crisis. [WSJ, NYT]
♦ Morgan Stanley has been in talks with Wachovia, Wells Fargo and the Chinese bank Citic; Morgan's CEO, John Mack, blames short sellers and rumors for…
♦ Fearing another massive corporate bankruptcy, the Federal Reserve agreed to an $85 billion bailout of the troubled insurance giant AIG. [NYT, WSJ, Fortune, NYP]
♦ AIG's CEO, Robert Willumstad, will be replaced by Edward Liddy, the former CEO of Allstate. [Marketwatch]
♦ AIG's ex-CEO Hank Greenberg is dismayed he…
