For WaMu account holders...

[Bimmer335i]

Originally Posted by Dragonman4

I've wondered that too. Recently a few of my friends have told me to start putting money in an ING account. I'm pretty much a market nub but a 3% yield seems kind of decent with no fees. Anyone have any thoughts?

I was looking for a savings or CD type acct and found ING offers that deal, 3%. But found WaMu offers a 4.25% CD deal for a 6-month minimum, with $100 dep. min. Obviously I went with WaMu for a 8-month term. And there's no fees, of course.

[Island Snow]

is WaMu in big trouble...more than $250 Billion tied up in home loans!!!

[Inspired]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Do you guys realize that WaMu is done? Just so you know, FDIC will take several months to insure your deposits... I can't believe people still have accounts with WaMu! This is amazing... they were just downgraded to junk and being booted off of the DOW... and by Friday will be seized by the Feds. Amazing...

wow if this is true I need to tell my friends to get their money out of wamu. but then, they been saying that they are going to be bankrupt ever since july.

[new2the3]

I had a 8 month CD with wamu, if the bank goes under how does that work? Will I get any interest?

[lauer87]

WAMU is small fish compared to what went down tonight with Moody's downgrading AIG (American Insurance Group) from AA3 to A2. Capital is going to have to be raised FAST. Its going to be interesting to see what the government does with this after just letting Lehman fail.

Guys with money in WAMU, you might be worried, but you will get your money rest assured. The FDIC is lower than normal on funds right now, but they have a credit line with the US Treasury and its a government sponsored entity so they will get you your money.

[stooken]

i might just take my money out of wamu. sure, i get a good amount more interest per month compared to bofa/wfb but i dont think it's worth the risk. and even if it is FDIC insured, i sure dont want to wait that long and deal with the headache over some change.

[Saigon]

take your money out; and stay way from WAMU. I've heard that it is the "JC penny" of banks and from my personal experience. They just don't look pro standing at the kiosks. Play it safe w/ BOA because if you ever need money, theres always an ATM just around the corner.

[gonzo]

Someone who knows for sure...
I have a business and savings account with WAMU. Both are just piddly money but should I pull out every penny to avoid prolonged hassles?
Thanks.

[wj4]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Washovia is going down soon so don't put your money there...WaMu is history, if anyone has money in that bank it's time to make a run. By Friday this bank will be closed.

Friday, huh? Only 3 days away.

[lauer87]

Its looking that way now, the feds probably will be in there taking control of things.

[stooken]

Originally Posted by Saigon

take your money out; and stay way from WAMU. I've heard that it is the "JC penny" of banks and from my personal experience. They just don't look pro standing at the kiosks. Play it safe w/ BOA because if you ever need money, theres always an ATM just around the corner.

yeah BOA offers slightly better rates than WFB but there's a credit union down the street that's even better. i'll probably just throw my savings in there.

goodbye WAMU today.

[akack79]

About to transfer out of WAMU as well.

[BOOSTFTW]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Washovia is going down soon so don't put your money there...WaMu is history, if anyone has money in that bank it's time to make a run. By Friday this bank will be closed.

don't listen to this overreacting idiot. wamu is going through some hardship but will eventually pull through.

Originally Posted by akack79

About to transfer out of WAMU as well.

Relax, your money is safe.

[JBZ4]

Federal Discount Rate

What it means: The interest rate at which an eligible financial institution may borrow funds directly from a Federal Reserve bank. Banks whose reserves dip below the reserve requirement set by the Federal Reserve's board of governors use that money to correct their shortage. The board of directors of each reserve bank sets the discount rate every 14 days. It's considered the last resort for banks, which usually borrow from each other.

Guys, the banks are now paying a higher rate for CD's than they are borrowing from the Feds. WAMU and Wachovia are in big trouble. As long as you have your cash spread to meet the FDIC requirements you are fine. Bottom line, a lot of banks are running out of cash to cover the shortages of the now undervalued mortgages they hold. They need to raise cash, look at the interest rates now, doesn't it seem odd the banks are offering a higher rate CD. What we are seeing is historic and unfortunately things are about to get worse!

[JBZ4]

The reports don't lie!

WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
301 SOUTH COLLEGE STREET
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina 28288
CAEL RATING 4G
Predictive Indicator neutral
As of June 30, 2008
Federal Reserve System Identifier 484422

HOLDING COMPANY INFORMATION
(Based on data from the previous quarter.)

Holding company data is in thousands and percent. Zero assets indicates that the data is not reported.

High Holder Ownership Assets Equity Equity to Assets Net Income

WACHOVIA CORPORATION wholly-owned

INTRODUCTION
U.S. commercial banks are chartered under either federal or state jurisdiction for the purposes of accepting funds for deposit and extending loans to either individual or business borrowers. Banks are subject to credit, interest rate, and operational risk, and, because of both their public purpose and their importance to the nation's economy, banks are the object of intense regulatory scrutiny.

The Bankrate proprietary commercial bank rating model analyzes capitalization, asset quality, earnings, and liquidity and produces composite and component "CAEL" ratings that can be used as a measure of the rated entity's financial safety and soundness. Additionally, early warning components of the model highlight operating characteristics of immediate concern and recommended follow-up actions.

INSTITUTIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Institution Name WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Report Date June 30, 2008
Report Period 6 months
CAEL Composite Rating, Percentile Rank 4G 9.74

Predictive Indicator neutral
Earnings Rating, Percentile Rank 5 4.50

Asset Quality Rating, Percentile Rank 3 29.81

Capital Rating, Percentile Rank 2 49.52

Liquidity Rating, Percentile Rank 2 39.68

Institution Asset Size 670.6390 billion
Deposits 450.9290 billion
Loans 401.1060 billion
Equity 69.7980 billion
Net Profit/Loss -1,732,000.00 thousand


COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
EARNINGS Highlights
Component CAEL Rating: 5

Bank profitability is critical to building capital, establishing adequate loss reserves, and providing dividends to shareholders.

Key Earnings information and ratios: Ratio (%) Assessment
Return on Equity -4.86 Substantially Below Average
Net Interest Margin 3.02 Below Average
Level of Non-interest Income (1) 1.39 Below Normal
Overhead (1) 2.56 Below Standard

(1) As a percentage of average assets.

ASSET QUALITY Highlights
Component CAEL Rating: 3

Asset quality is a major determinant of the viability of any banking institution. Poor asset quality will have a very direct impact upon the other components of CAEL, and bank regulators invest substantial amounts of time and resources in gauging the quality of a bank's loans and investments.

Key Asset Quality information and ratios: Ratio (%) Assessment
Nonperforming Asset Ratio (2) 12.06 Somewhat Higher Than Standard
Loss Reserve Coverage (3) 89.73 Below Normal
Loan Yield 5.85 Conservative
Asset Growth Rate 27.96 High

(2) Nonperforming Assets/Equity plus Loss Reserves
(3) Loan Loss Reserves/Nonperforming Loans

CAPITAL Highlights
Component CAEL Rating: 2

Bank capitalization stands as a protection against loss for bank customers, creditors, shareholders, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Regulators place a high degree of importance upon assessments of capitalization and assign regulatory benchmarks as determinants of capital adequacy.

Key measures of Capital Adequacy: Ratio (%) Assessment
Net Worth to Total Assets 10.41 Above Peer Norm
Regulatory Capital Ratio 11.60 Exceeded Requirement

LIQUIDITY Highlights
Component CAEL Rating: 2

Liquidity provides funding for normal bank operations and represents a reserve for unanticipated disintermediation. Liquidity can be both an asset and a liability concept. Key measures of Liquidity: Ratio (%) Assessment
Balance Sheet Liquidity (4) 5.80 Strong
Purchased Liabilities (5) 22.49 No Greater Than Average Dependence

(4) Cash and Equivalents/Total Assets
(5) Jumbo CD's and Borrowings/Total Assets

Early Warning Highlights
Early warning indicators identify areas of potential concern, which may lead to financial deterioration and thus, require inquiry or in-depth investigation.
For this bank we have noted:

Net Interest Margin
Non-Interest Income
Asset Growth

INSTITUTION COMMENTARY
OVERVIEW of Institution
Organized in 1908, WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION is a nationally chartered commercial bank, which, as of June 30, 2008, reported $670.6390 billion in total assets. At that date, loans and deposits held by the bank amounted to $401.1060 billion and $450.9290 billion, respectively. The bank's June 30, 2008 equity base of $69.7980 billion produced an Equity/Assets ratio of 10.41%, as of that date.

COMPOSITE SUMMARY
Bankrate believes that, as of June 30, 2008, this bank exhibited a below average condition, characterized by substantially lower than normal overall, sustainable profitability, satisfactory asset quality, strong capitalization and seemingly ample liquidity.

EARNINGS ANALYSIS
For the six months ended June 30, 2008, the bank recorded a net loss of $-1,732,000.00 thousand, which represented a return on average assets (ROA) of -0.52%. Year earlier six month results amounted to a net profit of $3.1930 billion, or a 1.23% annualized ROA. An ROA of at least 1.0% is deemed satisfactory in accordance with banking industry standards, and the industry's ROA for the first six months of 2008 was approximately 0.5%. We have concluded that for the first six months of 2008, the bank achieved a below average return on equity, and, as noted, sustained an actual loss for that six month period. We deem net interest margin to have been below average, and the reported percentage should cause inquiry into balance sheet composition, asset yields, and liability costs. Noninterest income was below normal, and management should be questioned as to the outlook for this source of revenue. We also observed overhead ratios that were below standard, a sign of good expense control. Importantly, net interest margins, noninterest income components, and overhead expense levels represent operating factors that combine to impact overall operating results.

ASSET QUALITY ANALYSIS
The bank revealed, as previously stated, satisfactory asset quality. Our conclusion with respect to asset quality incorporates our analysis of data depicting regional economic conditions as well as our computations of a somewhat higher than standard June 30, 2008 nonperforming asset ratio, below normal reserve coverage for nonperforming loans, and apparently acceptable quality, or no greater than average, holdings of commercial real estate and construction loans, two categories that can intensify credit risk.

Other asset categories, such as farm and consumer loans, which may carry more than usual default potential, should not have a substantial negative impact upon future results.


Loan yield can measure financial reward versus credit risk. Excessive loan yield may be an indicator of existing or future problems. Our loan review indicates that the bank has assumed a seemingly prudent position between credit risk and financial reward. Likewise, for banking institutions, substantially higher than normal asset growth can be deemed speculative and can lead to financial deterioration. This bank exhibits such growth which, if unrelated to merger activity, should be subject to further inquiry.

CAPITAL ANALYSIS
For the one year period ended June 30, 2008, the bank reported a strong rate of growth in equity capital. Balance sheet structural changes, through the one year period of time ended June 30, 2008, have improved the bank's capital position. Our analytical methodology does take into account the quantity, quality, and durability of net worth, and, as set forth above, we have determined, based upon our series of tests, that the bank demonstrates strong capitalization. We have calculated the bank's June 30, 2008 Total Risk-Based Capital position, a computation used by industry regulators, and have concluded that this bank exceeded the requirement, set by regulation, for this test.

LIQUIDITY ANALYSIS
As of June 30, 2008, the bank displayed balance sheet liquidity and a no greater than average reliance upon wholesale, or non-core liabilities, which include all borrowings, such as Federal Home Loan Bank Advances, and uninsured CD's greater than $100,000.

Accounting principles require some securities to be categorized as "Available-for-Sale." Changes in market value of these securities are reflected through the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) net worth of the institution. Based upon the bank's present balance sheet, changes in the value of the current level of securities reported as "Available-for-Sale" are almost certain to have a substantial impact upon future net worth of the bank.

INSTITUTION SUMMARY
This bank has been rated below average.
Negative factors that impacted that rating follow:

Earnings
As noted previously, early warning indicators, possibly requiring specific investigation include:

Net Interest Margin
Non-Interest Income
Asset Growth

PREDICTIVE INDICATOR
As stated, we have determined a composite CAEL rating for this bank of 4G, indicative of a below average financial condition. At times, financial conditions of banks change rapidly and significantly. Hence, our Composite CAEL ratings should not be deemed predictive of likely future ratings. However, in view of early warning indicators set forth within this report, in combination with the institution's financial data, we believe that the Composite CAEL rating for this institution is unlikely to change within the ensuing twelve month period.

[uabimmer]

^ uhm are there some spark notes for this


So i was wondering: lets say i have a WaMu Credit Card, if WaMu goes bankrupt do i still have to pay the bills LOL or is the CC company seperate?

[stooken]

Originally Posted by uabimmer

^ uhm are there some spark notes for this


So i was wondering: lets say i have a WaMu Credit Card, if WaMu goes bankrupt do i still have to pay the bills LOL or is the CC company seperate?

LOL you still have to pay. they can probably sell that debt off to another lender at a discounted price.

[uabimmer]

Awww too bad....

it would be nice for one of my credit cards to just disapear...

BTW ... i prefer BOA online banking way over the WaMu site ...

[pnguyen]

Originally Posted by second_2_nun

I left wamu for bofa and never looked back! also wachovia is decent.

wachovia is about to merged with another bank or financial institution just like BOA bought up meryl lynch.

[HighVoltage]

Originally Posted by lauer87

WAMU is small fish compared to what went down tonight with Moody's downgrading AIG (American Insurance Group) from AA3 to A2. Capital is going to have to be raised FAST. Its going to be interesting to see what the government does with this after just letting Lehman fail.

$85 billion bailout (upto) and the feds grab 79.9%....holy fuk.

[JBZ4]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Washovia is going down soon so don't put your money there...WaMu is history, if anyone has money in that bank it's time to make a run. By Friday this bank will be closed.

While maybe not this week, they are on the brink unfortunately.

[Saigon]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/washington_mutual