Golden parachutist Henry Paulson, via the FDIC, does an inside job to give WaMu to his old charge JP Morgan. Another reason you should not support his Wall Street Bailout Plan. E-mail your nitwit senators and congressperson to vote against any bailout. Otherwise you deserve what you get!

I’m sure many in the Seattle area would love to tar and feather Kerry Killinger.

I lived in Seattle during 9/11. Insley is one of the worst bluedog Democrats. He's almost as bad as Lieberman... wait that was a political low blow. I've emailed my Senators. AND called both Senators and my rep. The capital switchboard number is 202-225-3121

i just opened a online checking account there, on
and just got my debit mastercard. Suppose it's business as "usual" for now?

It is kind of sad. WaMu USED to be a great local bank, very well run, With all the mergers over the years I bounced from bank to bank and finally landed with them. Unfortunate bad business decisions and greed clouded their mission. They too wanted to be players, got away from what they did best and now it blows up. MGMT needs to go to jail and forfeit a major portion of their assets.

Whether this is planned or not, look to "It's A Wonderful Life". Potter isn't selling, he's buying. We may find ourselves turning into Pottersville on a national basis.

A couple of big banks OWNING EVERYTHING, everybody hanging out at Nick's place drinking whiskey to get away from our little shantys and miserable low paid long hour jobs.

SO, WHO is George Bailey? Obama, or McCain?

Well i'd have to say Obama. Because McCain sure as hell fits the bill for being Potter. Hell, he even looks like him.

Potter
McCain

Just paid off my mortgage at WAMU...the last woo-hoo?

Just paid off my mortgage at WAMU...the last woo-hoo?
Let's hope the system at Chase doesn't mess up and in a few years sends you a bill demanding a few thousand dollars!
Or for that matter, when they merge computer systems, that the online and phone systems don't tell anyone that their account doesn't exist! (Or worse, they're at the grocery store and their card comes up on the check register with some embarrassing message?)
For more information on those last ones, find someone who banked at First Interstate when Wells Fargo bought them.

I should probably mention that I left Washington Mutual a couple of years ago after receiving poor service at several branches, and at another branch being forced to talk to one of the investment folks who wanted to sell me a product I had no interest in. I'm glad I knew I had the right to say no! Then there's when they changed the debit cards from Visa to MasterCard. My card number was changed by the bank probably 3 times over a one-year period.
Today I'm going to stop by one of said branches for the last time, to finally close that last open account. Not because I don't like it they've been bought, or because I have no intention of going back, but because I already have an account at a mega-bank. (OK, so technically Washington Mutual was another, but they weren't when I started there.)

First Interstate?!?!? Hated them there. still Hate em.
Banks and radio stations.... the good local ones that were solid LOCAL institutions sold out for the big bucks to the giants, now they are stockholder driven, insatiable dollar vaccums. MO PROFITS! BIGGER PROFITS! less personal service in the local community prefering to be "GLOBAL"

Credit Unions. Best service, best deals on nearly everything when compared to your average bank.

Yeah, same here with credit unions. Everything about my credit union is superior to everything about the last bank, Bank of America, I had an account with.

Andrew

I've been with US Bank for ages, and have always had excellent service. I'm also a member of Onpoint. I can't say Onpoint is superior to US Bank in regards to ATM locations, customer service, bank branches, or online banking.

As for WAMU, the reason they've gone down the tubes is because they decided their mortgage orignination business should focus on subrprime mortgages, home equity lending, and pay option ARMs (neg am). They actually exited the government loan business, so they no longer offered FHA or VA loans. Looking back, that was a horrible business decision and is the reason they have been wiped out. As far as I'm concerned, fuck'em, they got what they deserved.

Thats right WAMU MADE their own bad paper, unlike many of the other banks who BOUGHT the bad paper.

They pretty much have what is comming to them. The merger will eliminate a slew of jobs, to bad for those people.

This whole financial/economic fiasco has me so pissed that I messed up: Paulson was CEO at Morgan Stanley, not JP Morgan. Same church, different pew.

Vitalogy: I've been with US Bank for ages, and have always had excellent service. I'm also a member of Onpoint. I can't say Onpoint is superior to US Bank in regards to ATM locations, customer service, bank branches, or online banking.

I rarely need to go to the bank anymore; I can simply mail my checks in if need be. I am lucky that I now have a branch of my credit union near me, but it's not that important. The neat thing about my CU is that they are member of the co-op network of ATMs, meaning that I can use any ATM of any member CU (which is most of them), for no extra fee. Once you use a CU, you start to notice they are everywhere, so it's very easy to find a no-fee ATM.

And when I use my debit card in Europe to get cash? I pay a 1% Visa conversion fee - that's it (you'll generally pay that with any credit or debit card). No fees to use their ATM, no fees from my CU to use the European ATM.

I found customer service at my CU far superior to B of A. I don't really have any need to look elsewhere.

Andrew

For me to say something about the hijacking of my original message would be futile. I mean, like the European Visa conversion fee? Who gives a rip! No wonder we have such idiotic representation in Washington! You can redeem yourselves by calling or E-mailing those representatives and insisting that they "just say no" to the Bush-Paulson-Frank-et.al. bailout plan.

Great, next time don't title your thread "The Slime Strikes WaMu" if you really want to talk about the Bailout.

Andrew

Oh Lord have mercy. People have posted extensively on the bailout on several different threads, including posters providing links to Congress and cut and paste letters one can forward to their elected representatives. So if we digress a bit from the bailout, so be it. It’s not as if you’re the only one concerned about it.

For the record, I've been with US Bank since 1976. Currently they are the worst bank in Oregon, bar none. I closed my account last year and told the bank manager to shove it in front of a half a dozen customers after she made me wait 35 minutes to get in the bank vault. (She was busy signing up a new customer.)

I think anyone out there can have good and bad experiences at any company. But in your case, I wouldn't be surprised if it was you that was the unreasonable asshole. I'm sure US Bank wasn't too upset when you closed your account. It's usually the most unprofitable customers who cause the most problems. Realistic businesses are happy to see them go elsewhere.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was you that was the unreasonable asshole.

Sort of like what I think of you, eh? People that brag about unrealistic one day earnings in a forum are unreasonable assholes.

I'm sure US Bank wasn't too upset when you closed your account.

Nope, they begged to let them fix things. I closed a business savings account, business checking account, visa merchant account, then finally safe deposit box account.

BTW, I've also been a member of PTCU now onpoint since 74. I suppose they're must more tolerant of assholes, eh? Since I'm a member, you better close your account.

US Bank is a BAD bank. Their merger with that Minneapolis bank killed off an Oregon institution. Stay the hell away.

Why is it that people who enjoy discussing their wealth in a public forum tend to be the most boorish ones of all?

And why is it that the wealthy people I do know chose not to discuss matters of personal finance in mixed company? It's called refinement.

"People that brag about unrealistic one day earnings in a forum are unreasonable assholes."

People that brag about having accounts at a bank are really no better. Like I said, you're an unprofitable customer who's probably an ass to deal with. I'm sure they adhered to the policy of trying to save a customer while secretly bidding you farewell.

And as for "bragging about unrealistic earnings", well, think what you want. I can't help you with your jealosy complex.

tal sez: And why is it that the wealthy people I do know chose not to discuss matters of personal finance in mixed company?

Perhaps to avoid a federal prison term?

But you're right, the more money one has, the less likely they are to talk about it. Banks, on the other hand are open game. One thing for sure, Banks will take anybody's money, whether they're drug dealers, corrupt businessmen or plain old A-holes.

someone else sez: I can't help you with your jealosy complex.

Heh, you brought down the house here.

Banks are like prostitutes, they will do business with anyone (I bet though prostitutes are more discerning than banks).

Jealousy complex? That is funny. Skeptical, did you pay for that diagnosis or is someone practicing without a license?

The guy who took over WaMu on the 8th is taking $13 million with him when he leaves in the upcoming weeks. Nice work if you can get it.

And people flame me for bashing CEOs.

Wealthy people don't talk much about it because either they have character and realize that it's not so important, or because it's extremely likely they are the only one in the group that is in that position.

There is a social pressure and stigma, not unlike being the only gay person in the room, that has a chilling effect. Another great case is the employee who makes a significant amount more than their peers.

IMHO, that's not a bad thing in and of itself. It's just a social dynamic that plays out among people.

If the wealthy person leverages that for their own gain, then it sucks; otherwise, it's just another aspect of social interaction. Being humble is not a bad thing.

High dollar CEO's are deserving of the bashing they so often get. I sometimes think they have to ask for the huge amounts just to demonstrate the level of greed they have. It's a rite of passage into a small club of assholes willing to screw anybody, anywhere, anytime, anyhow for the benefit of the shareholders.

I've found that those that complain about other people's successes usually lack success on their own.

Why is that the wealthiest family members I know are the least charitable, and least giving when family members are in a crisis that requires needs, are the most bigoted/racist.

KSKD sez: High dollar CEO's are deserving of the bashing they so often get.

In this day and age of the internet, its harder for them to live anonymously after they've screwed employees, customers and investors.

"I've found that those that complain about other people's successes usually lack success on their own."

Limited thinking. It's about how they got there, not just the fact that they made it there.

Complaining about (pointing out) the ill gotten gains of the corrupt is called communication.

Absolutely it is.

And success is about expectations and trade-offs.

There are those of us that think money matters most, and they gauge their success accordingly. There are many ways to look at this.

Are you happy? Healthy? Carry the respect of your peers? Feel good about your contribution to the world?

What I have found is that people critical of others generally have different sets of expectations. That's all fine and good really.

Speaks directly to the communication Andy wrote about. In the end, nobody makes anybody feel anything. If those CEO's are happy, well then they are happy! They make plenty and can easily afford the many escapes maintaining that happiness require.

There is absolutely no harm in calling them out on their version of success.

As George H. W. Bush once said, "we are not the sum of our possessions." There is much more to life material wealth.

The worst part about the WaMu collapse is the outgoing CEO, who held his position for about 3 weeks, stands to walk away with approx. $13.5 MILLION dollars, due to his signing bonus and severance package.

Not worse for him ! 13.5 mill is a drop in that bucket, even for the ailing WAMU/J.P.Morgan.