J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. tonight will announce it’s buying most or all of Washington Mutual Inc.'s deposits and branches, according to a source close to WaMu.
JPMorgan has scheduled a conference call with investors and analysts for 6:15 p.m. PDT.
The New York banking giant has long been rumored to be the most likely buyer of some or all of ailing WaMu, the nation’s largest thrift, with $182 billion in deposits.
The arrangement is expected to assure that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. won't have to take a hit on WaMu's insured deposits. A failure of WaMu, without a deal, would have been by far the biggest bank collapse in FDIC history.
JPMorgan has long coveted WaMu’s extensive branch network in California and Florida. It had offered to buy the Seattle-based thrift in spring, but WaMu instead accepted a $7 billion private equity investment from TPG, the former Texas Pacific Group.
The need for WaMu to strike a deal has become more urgent in recent days as the company’s debt rating was downgraded to deep-junk levels, and as its stock has plunged anew. The shares dived 57 cents, or 25%, to $1.69 today, the lowest since the 1980s.
JPMorgan’s conference call information, for those who want to listen in: Dial 1-877-238-4671 and give the access code 814030.
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