Washington Mutual stops lending, lays off 3000

[donsu]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/wamu-cut-dividend-raise-25/story.aspx?guid=%7B88349E16-8D74-4219-8CBD-2473BDCEECFF%7D


WaMu subprime exit results in over 3,000 job cuts
In grasp for capital, company slashes dividend and plans stock sale


Washington Mutual Inc. said late Monday it will leave the subprime lending business, eliminating 3,150 jobs, while it shores up an increasingly shaky financial position by slashing its dividend by over two-thirds and selling preferred stock.
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3,150 newly poor

[alstephenson]

1. WAMU isn't stopping LENDING, just sub-prime lending...

I guess the banks will have to go back to the good old days, when they actually did underwriting of the borrower and the property. But now there are no investors to buy the pools of sub-prime loans that generated the huge profits banks have been enjoying. Oh boo hoo. Sad for the employees being laid off, but in banking that happens about every five years due to one reason or another.