Friday, September 26, 2008

US's Largest Bank Failure, Washington Mutual

Global financial instability continued overnight, with the US's largest bank failure in history. Washington Mutual headquartered in Seattle was seized Thursday evening by Federal regulators who simultaneously sold most of WaMu's assets for $1.9 billion to J P Morgan Chase.

The roots of the current US financial crisis can be traced back to the 1980s deregulation of the savings & loans industry that provided home mortgage financing and which WaMu was a part of.

US legislators continue to struggle to pass legislation to shore up the US financial system dangerously teetering on the top of a cliff.

Meantime, on the other side of the Pacific Rim, the Government Superannuation Fund which invests pension funds for some New Zealand government employees reports a NZ$261 million after-tax loss or -6.7 return on average assets as a result of taking hits on its domestic and international stock holdings precipitated by US financial woes and the onset of global recession.

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