Business as usual for WaMu customers

NEW YORK — The collapse of Washington Mutual Inc. left customers and investors with many concerns and questions in the wake of the nation's biggest bank failure.

Succumbing to problems in its home-loan business that have been evident since 2006, WaMu was seized Thursday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion.

The news surprised some Salt Lake City customers, though they said business went on as usual in a downtown branch. Still, some were nervous.

Salt Lake City resident David Gravelle went inside the bank Friday instead of going to the ATM to get a feel for what's going on. He wishes information were more forthcoming from the company, particularly considering the nation's financial crisis. He's withholding judgment whether to move his money elsewhere.

So is customer Diane Hill.

"I think our money's safe," she said, acknowledging she was thinking about moving accounts elsewhere. "But everything's pretty unnerving this week."

Question: What does the sale mean for customers?

Answer: JPMorgan Chase assured customers on both the WaMu Web site and its own that it's business as usual after it assumed the deposit and loan accounts, and all branches of Washington Mutual. "You can continue to access your accounts just the way you've accessed them in the past: Use your same branch, same debit, credit and ATM cards, same checks."

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair also promised customers a seamless transition. For all depositors and other customers of WaMu, "this is simply a combination of two banks," she said.

Utah is home to 33 Chase branches and 18 WaMu branches, said Howard Headlee, president of the Utah Bankers Association.

"Combining those are not going to create any kind of competitive issue," Headlee said. If branches were to consolidate, "it wouldn't happen for a number of months."

Question: How safe is WaMu customers' money?

Answer: "No one lost any money that was deposited in Washington Mutual Bank," the FDIC said. FDIC insurance protects deposits up to $100,000, or $250,000 for some individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s. But that insurance should not be needed if the JPMorgan takeover proceeds smoothly. The purchase prevents WaMu's collapse from depleting the FDIC's insurance fund, which stood at $45 billion on Thursday.

JPMorgan bought WaMu's assets, which are valued at about $307 billion, for $1.9 billion. Now the nation's second largest bank, JPMorgan plans to write down about $31 billion worth of bad loans and sell $8 billion in common stock to raise capital.

Question: What about WaMu investors?