WaMu, one of the largest US savings and loans, was closed by regulators who orchestrated a last-minute sale of its assets to JPMorgan Chase, on September 25. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - US AUTHORITIES have opened a wide-ranging probe into the collapse of Washington Mutual, the giant thrift that became one of the largest to fail as a result of the housing and credit crisis.
A statement issued on Wednesday by US Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan in Seattle, Washington, said investigators were looking for information on potentially illegal activity related to the thrift's failure.
'Due to the intense public interest in the failure of Washington Mutual, I want to assure our community that federal law enforcement is examining activities at the bank to determine if any federal laws were violated,' Mr Sullivan said.
He said the probe included investigators from the FBI, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service criminal service.
'For more than 100 years Washington Mutual was a highly regarded financial institution headquartered in Seattle,' Mr Sullivan said.
'Given the significant losses to investors, employees, and our community, it is fully appropriate that we scrutinise the activities of the bank, its leaders, and others to determine if any federal laws were violated.'
WaMu, one of the largest US savings and loans, was closed by regulators who orchestrated a last-minute sale of its assets to JPMorgan Chase, on September 25.
WaMu, heavily exposed to bad mortgage investments at the heart of the financial crisis, was closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Seattle, Washington-based thrift had US$307 billion (S$ 454 billion) in assets.
The failure came amid turmoil in financial markets that saw the bankruptcy of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers and government takeover of mortgage finance groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. -- AFP
