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$4.65 -1.17 (-20.10%)
7/23/2008 4:02 PM

Washington Mutual, Inc. (WM)

CAPS Rating:
*

The Company is a consumer and small business banking company with operations in major U.S. markets.

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23

Avatar andersonbill (< 20) Submitted: 2/19/08 6:43 PM : Underperform Start Price: $16.28 WM Score: 67.12

I worked for WaMu for 3 years recently and I can say without hestitaion that current executive management is fully responsible for the mess they find themselves in. KK and his top half-dozen people are not capable of saving the bank, they must go.





I don't think WaMu is a buyout candidate because they don't have an effective or effiecient internal operation. The retail branches are old school S&Ls without the basic commercial bank requirements such as easy access locations, efficient drive throughs and large cash vaults. The mortgage portfolio is in the dumpster and credit cards are barely above water. All this leaves very little for an outsider to covet, unless a purchase and breakup were done.

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Avatar LovinMe (99.12) Submitted: 5/22/08 2:18 PM

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not to mention that the Board will kick and scream before they let the company get bought.

its a bloody slide :P

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Avatar jgseattle (< 20) Submitted: 6/09/08 11:43 PM

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I was under the impression the retail network was the jewel of WM. You make that sound like it is not a big asset. Can you expand more on "old school S&Ls."

Also, what was the name of the credit card company they purchased? When was it purchased? It seems this was an ill advised purchase with poor timing. As you say CC "are barely above water." That will change as the recession hits.

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Avatar dex2988 (< 20) Submitted: 6/10/08 12:23 PM

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WM bought Providian, and the integration into the retail network was a nightmare. If you listen to the executives, they'll say that retail is the jewel of the company, but in actuality, the Commercial group is the business line making all the money. Across the retail network, WM simply does not hire enough talented individuals to effectively cross-sell the bank products necessary to gain market share. This is by design. WM would rather hire underperforming personnel and underpay them. Most WM retail employees have no idea how the bank actually makes money, and nearly all of them have no idea why the stock price has plummeted.

And THAT is by design as well.

Rapid expansion into markets without name recognition (NY/NJ, FL, GA, TX) led to a gross underestimation of what it would take to be profitable in those markets. New account statistics are completely misleading because accounts can be opened with $1, meaning that very little new deposit gains go on the boards.

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Avatar tonykng48 (22.61) Submitted: 7/04/08 12:24 AM

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I think WaMu is in the mess right now, but not only wamu, but every financial are in trouble, large or small, because of the houseing market, I do not think wamu will go down to the bottom, I don't think the share holder will let that happen, the management need to regroup, and find a way to get out this mess, hope in a year or two for them to fix the problem.

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