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WaMu Failure Further Sign of Financial Turmoil

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Signs of the faltering economic environment continue to unfold as the federal government seized Washington Mutual (WaMu) on September 25 in what is being called the largest bank failure in history. Congress continues to debate the $700 billion financial bailout today even as talks were dealt a setback September 25 when a group of House Republicans sought to institute an alternative plan.

That plan, according to published reports, is to create a program by which the government would establish an expanded insurance system financed by the banks that would rescue individual home mortgages. However, it seems as that plan has been nixed as the House Republicans are now back on board and have rejoined the negotiations on the $700 billion bailout plan.

As for WaMu, published reports say that regulators brokered a sale of virtually all of WaMu’s assets–totaling $307 billion–to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion. It was only six months ago that JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns.