New York bank purchases troubled Washington Mutual

After more than 100 years in business and as part of the local landscape, Washington Mutual filed for bankruptcy Sept. 25 and was acquired for $1.9 billion last week by JPMorgan Chase.

After more than 100 years in business and as part of the local landscape, Washington Mutual filed for bankruptcy Sept. 25 and was acquired for $1.9 billion last week by JPMorgan Chase.

According to reports, it is the largest bank failure in American history, though all depositors are fully protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC).

The acquisition is expected to have only minor effects in the branches and customers are urged to continue banking as usual. Payment addresses and phone numbers remain unchanged.

WaMu operates four branches in the Kent-DesMoines area.

Borrowers are reminded to continue paying credit cards and mortgages as before.

The New York-based JPMorgan Chase is an international banking firm with operations in more than 60 countries and is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

According to statistics provided by JPMorgan, the new, combined bank will have more than 5,000 branches in 23 states with total deposits reaching more than $900 billion and total assets of more than $2 trillion.

WaMu’s approximately 43,000 workers are also mostly expected to stay in place for the time being, though it has been reported that changes could be in store for those working at the company headquarters in Seattle.


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