[Youtube: An example of one of Washington Mutual's racist ads lambasting conservative White bankers as old fashioned.]

WaMu Goes Under: Biggest Bank Failure in US History

By James Buchanan – EURO

A New York Times article reports “Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night, in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history. Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, averting another potentially huge taxpayer bill for the rescue of a failing institution. The move came as lawmakers reached a stalemate over the passage of a $700 billion bailout fund designed to help ailing banks, and removed one of America’s most troubled banks from the financial landscape.”

The ongoing subprime crisis was caused by watering down regulations for subprime loans so that more minorities would qualify. The federal government compelled banks to increase subprime loans to Blacks and Latinos. Any bank that refused would be punished. If a bank didn’t make enough minority loans and they needed federal permission to do anything such as open a new bank, their request was promptly denied by the Feds in retaliation.

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