It's the biggest bank failure in history. On Thursday night, in the waning hours of its one hundred and nineteenth birthday, Seattle based Washington Mutual was seized by the federal government and most of its assets sold to JPMorgan Chase for a paltry $1.9 billion.

If you are a Washington Mutual customer you now have an account at Chase, effective immediately. The WaMu brand will be soon dropped and all branches and accounts will carry the Chase name.

If you do not like the idea of being part of the financial behometh that is JPMorgan Chase, consider leaving and joining a credit union.

Because credit unions are owned by their members (every customer is a shareholder) credit unions can focus on providing superior service instead of trying to placate the demands of Wall Street.

Credit unions are thus democratically governed and inherently more responsive to the communities they serve. Credit unions offer lower fees and better rates than most banks.

Credit unions have also improved convenience in recent years by forming the CU Network - a shared branching service that allows credit union members to make transactions at other credit unions:

"Over 1,300 credit unions nationwide have access to over 5,500 locations in 47 states, Puerto Rico, Japan, South Korea, Italy and Germany. And, these numbers keep growing as more states and credit unions join the Shared Branching Network."

- CUswirl.com

To find a credit union in your area, visit

OK, but is this good or bad for indie musicians? Hopefully, RIAA affiliated labels were keeping the money they stole from artists in this bank. (Depositors only insured up to $100,000 heh heh.)

actually, what's interesting is that the bank's failure was triggered in part by people with over $100,000 withdrawing their money. WaMu saw a flood of withdrawals totaling nearly $17 billion since Sept. 15th. Management must have known and been keeping quiet, thinking if they said anything it would trigger a run on the bank.

Keeping quiet? Not exactly. They decided to lie out their ass instead.

September 22, 2008

To Our Valued Customers:
As WaMu's new chief executive officer, I am writing to discuss the extraordinary economic environment for all banks in the United States and why you can count on us to continue to serve you safely and soundly.

When I was recently approached about the opportunity to lead this great company, I did my homework to satisfy myself that WaMu has the capital, the liquidity, and the business plan to serve your needs and protect your money through these challenging times.

Sincerely,
Alan Fishman
Chief Executive Officer

Ahh, it's oh so sweet and ironic at the same time.