Agencies' IGs to Analyze Wamu Failure

The inspectors general at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Treasury Department will prepare a joint report analyzing the September failure of Washington Mutual Inc., the FDIC's chief watchdog said Wednesday.

Though inspector general reports are required when bank failures cause a material loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund, the collapse of the $307 billion-asset Seattle thrift was not thought to trigger such a report. The FDIC had negotiated a deal with JPMorgan Chase & Co. for Wamu's banking operations, which was estimated to cost the agency nothing.

But in a letter to American Banker, which published an article Wednesday on recent material-loss reviews, FDIC Inspector General Jon T. Rymer said the two watchdogs nonetheless intend to issue a report on Wamu, the largest depository institution ever to fail. The two agencies "recently initiated a joint evaluation of various aspects of the supervision and resolution of Washington Mutual and will issue a report when work is completed," he wrote.

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