What's next for bank customers at failed Washington Mutual?
— -- These are nail-biting times for bank customers. On Thursday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized the assets of Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan, and brokered the sale of the company to JPMorgan Chase. The collapse of Washington Mutual — often called WaMu — is the largest bank failure in U.S. history.
The WaMu failure sparked renewed worries that more big banks would fail. Shares of Wachovia plunged 27% Friday on concerns about its financial health. On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported on its website that Wachovia is talking to several potential buyers, including Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Banco Santander of Spain.
Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown said in an e-mail Sunday that the company doesn't comment on merger rumors. Phillips-Brown said the company is "aggressively addressing" its challenges.
Here are answers to some questions about what Washington Mutual's failure and the sale to JPMorgan Chase will mean for savers, credit card borrowers and mortgage holders:
Q: I have a bank account with Washington Mutual. How will the merger affect me?
A: For WaMu customers, it's business as usual. You'll have the same account numbers, passwords, branches and ATMs. Sometime in the future, you'll see the JPMorgan Chase name on your bank statements and credit cards, and you'll receive new debit cards bearing the Chase name.
Q: What about my insured deposits with WaMu?
A: They're still fully covered by the FDIC, up to $100,000 for individual depositors, $200,000 for qualified joint accounts and $250,000 for retirement accounts. And because JPMorgan Chase bought all of WaMu's deposits, WaMu customers with uninsured deposits won't lose any money, either.
Q: I bought one of WaMu's one-year certificates of deposit with a 5% rate. Will I still receive that rate until the CD matures?
A: At a press conference call on Friday, Charlie Scharf, head of JPMorgan Chase's retail business, said rates for WaMu products will remain the same "as we figure out how to merge the companies." But it's unlikely that Chase will honor the rate on WaMu's 5% CD through maturity, says Greg McBride, senior analyst for Bankrate.com. Last week, the average rate for a one-year CD was 2.45%, according to Bankrate.com.
If Chase decides to lower the rate on WaMu CDs, customers will have the option of holding on to their lower-paying CDs until maturity or redeeming their CDs without paying an early-withdrawal penalty, McBride says.
Q: I have CDs with JPMorgan Chase and WaMu. How will this merger affect me?
A: You won't have to do anything right away. WaMu CDs will be separately insured for six months after the merger, or until maturity. But if your combined deposits with WaMu and JPMorgan Chase exceed federal deposit insurance limits at the end of that period, you'll need to make some changes to maintain full coverage. The easiest way to do this is to move some of your funds to another bank.
Q: I have a WaMu credit card with a low interest rate. Will that change?
A: Over time, McBride says, JPMorgan Chase probably will streamline some of its products with WaMu products, and terms of WaMu credit cards could change. "But that's not going to happen overnight," he says.
Q: What about my WaMu mortgage?
A: All WaMu mortgages and other loans have been acquired by JPMorgan Chase. The terms of your mortgage won't change, so continue to make your monthly payment by the due date.