WaMu Posts 2nd Consecutive Quarterly Loss

Oregonian (04/16/08); Hester, Elizabeth; Son, Hugh
With more customers falling behind on their mortgage payments, Washington Mutual Inc. (WaMu) this week reported its second consecutive quarterly loss. The Seattle-based thrift, which recently secured a $7 billion capital infusion, recorded a first-quarter loss of $1.14 billion versus a profit of $784 million a year earlier. WaMu has consistently ranked among the nation's biggest subprime mortgage companies. According to Moody's Investors Service, it still has $19 billion of subprime loans, $43 billion of second-lien home equity credit and $58 billion of option-ARMs on its books.