Tom Kelly The Real Estate Adviser

October 9, 2008

The Real Estate Adviser: Option ARM: the loan that took down WaMu

Kerry Killinger, a former strategist at the brokerage firm Murphey Favre, became Washington Mutual's chief executive in 1990. He made his first significant money by flipping investment homes in Eastern Washington and deeply believed in the power of the housing industry.

Killinger was all about the business of mortgages and engineered the bank purchases that would make WaMu the nation's largest residential lender. In the end, it was a loan — “the only loan you'll ever need” — that brought the bank down, along with the customers who yanked their deposits because of the loan's reputation.

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Previous columns:

• The Real Estate Adviser: WaMu's mortgage troubles started in '96, 10-02-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Foreclosure scams are on the increase, 09-25-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Niche lenders target U.S. buyers in Mexico, 09-18-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Reading the fine print on reverse mortgages, 09-11-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Use your retirement funds to buy investment property, 09-04-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: New housing bill reduces reverse mortgage fees, 08-28-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Consumer perception can move economic mountains, 08-21-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Hold off on vacation until your deal closes, 08-14-2008