Washington Mutual Failure
Intra/Entrepreneurship and Business Management
Business Failure Case Study
Washington Mutual Failure Failing in business isn 't fatal. It 's often a precursor to success. It 's not uncommon for successful entrepreneurs to fail before achieving success. During turbulent economic times, such as now, we can easily find ourselves shifting the blame for the failure of our businesses to factors outside of our control. Similarly in economic boom times we can find ourselves being quite proud of the results we achieve almost without having a clue as to how we have accomplished them. This somewhat hypocritical approach to business can be very dangerous. In order to ensure the future growth and sustainability of our businesses we have to be honest about what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Seattle-based Washington Mutual, Inc. (WaMu), one of the nation 's leading financial services companies, is the outgrowth of a demand to rebuild its home city after a devastating late 19th-century fire. Since then the company has transitioned from a building loan to a mutual bank. Until the 1960s, the company operated solely in the Seattle area. Then, an acquisition drive during the 1990s propelled Washington Mutual to the top ranks of U.S. home mortgage makers. Faced with a steady downward pressure in the sector at the midpoint of the first decade of the 2000s, Washington Mutual has redirected its attention to its retail banking business. The financial turmoil in the United States has claimed Washington Mutual, on its 119th year anniversary and is being called the biggest banking failure in American history. The United States regulators have seized and sold some of Washington Mutual’s assets to JPMorgan for nearly two billion dollars. This seizure and sale is an attempt to clean up the banking industry filtered with toxic mortgage debt. Washington Mutual had insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations and was in an unsafe and unsound
Business Failure Case Study
Washington Mutual Failure Failing in business isn 't fatal. It 's often a precursor to success. It 's not uncommon for successful entrepreneurs to fail before achieving success. During turbulent economic times, such as now, we can easily find ourselves shifting the blame for the failure of our businesses to factors outside of our control. Similarly in economic boom times we can find ourselves being quite proud of the results we achieve almost without having a clue as to how we have accomplished them. This somewhat hypocritical approach to business can be very dangerous. In order to ensure the future growth and sustainability of our businesses we have to be honest about what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Seattle-based Washington Mutual, Inc. (WaMu), one of the nation 's leading financial services companies, is the outgrowth of a demand to rebuild its home city after a devastating late 19th-century fire. Since then the company has transitioned from a building loan to a mutual bank. Until the 1960s, the company operated solely in the Seattle area. Then, an acquisition drive during the 1990s propelled Washington Mutual to the top ranks of U.S. home mortgage makers. Faced with a steady downward pressure in the sector at the midpoint of the first decade of the 2000s, Washington Mutual has redirected its attention to its retail banking business. The financial turmoil in the United States has claimed Washington Mutual, on its 119th year anniversary and is being called the biggest banking failure in American history. The United States regulators have seized and sold some of Washington Mutual’s assets to JPMorgan for nearly two billion dollars. This seizure and sale is an attempt to clean up the banking industry filtered with toxic mortgage debt. Washington Mutual had insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations and was in an unsafe and unsound
References: ABC News (2008 September 26). Washington Mutual Collapse “biggest in United States history”. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/26/2375597.htm?section=business BBC News (2008 September 26). Regulator sells Washington Mutual. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7637026.stm Comlay, E., Stempel, J. (2008 September 25). WaMu is largest U.S. bank failure. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080926/ts_nm/us_washingtonmutual_jpmorgan_news&pri... Dash, E., Sorkin, A. (2008 September 25). Government seizes WaMu & sells some assets. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26wamu.html?pagewanted=1&WT.mc_id=... Dash, E., Fabrikant, G. (2008 September 11). Washington Mutual Stock Falls on Investor Fears. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/business/11bank.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref... WaMu. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://www.wamu.com/about/corporateprofile/default.asp Washington Mutual, Inc. Retrieved September 27, 2008 from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Washington-Mutual-Inc-Company-Hi... The Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual—The Biggest Bank Failure in American History. By Kirsten Grind. Simon and Schuster