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The Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual-The Biggest Bank Failure in American History Hardcover – 2012

4.4 out of 5 stars 108 customer reviews

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2012)
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00CC6EHRC
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,382,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Format: Hardcover
Reviewed by Michele Perrin, CPA, CMB, of Perrin & Associates, a Mortgage Banking/Warehouse Lending consultant and former First Vice President of Washington Mutual's Mortgage Banker Finance Division.

Reading The Lost Bank, journalist Kirsten Grind's in-depth investigation into the demise of Washington Mutual, was an emotional experience for me as a former "Wamulian" and a named character in the book. I knew that Kirsten had really done her homework based on how many times she called me with questions as she relentlessly pursued the story, but I never imagined how much truly stunning information she would dig up. I laughed, I cried (at least twice), and I gasped out loud as I read a story I thought I knew so well. Who knew a book about a bank could be such a gripping read? Who knew there was so much more to tell?

Kirsten Grind is a Wall Street Journal reporter today, but she was covering Washington Mutual for the Puget Sound Business Journal during the tumultuous final years of WaMu's dominance of the Seattle economy and skyline. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her work covering the FDIC's takeover of Washington Mutual in September of 2008. She estimates that she read over 10,000 documents related to WaMu and interviewed hundreds of people, and her diligence paid off.

The books starts with a prologue from September 25, 2008, the day WaMu was taken over by the FDIC, but then steps back to 1981 when Lou Pepper reluctantly finds himself at the helm of a unprofitable $2 billion thrift with 35 branches in Washington State. He sets about making the place into the "Friend of the Family.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is an extensively researched, great book that will be enjoyed particularly by those who are interested in understanding the psychology of some of the participants behind the financial collapse.

The book is more about the unraveling of Kerry Killinger and his executive team than it is about the bigger problems that plagued the credit and housing markets. But it's a great snapshot of the biggest bank collapse in American history and those who were supposed to regulate it. All told, the book feels accurate.

I was an officer at WaMu, having spent time in various marketing roles at the bank, including tours with the Retail Bank and Home Loans. I was there right up till the end and remember vividly that evening on September 25, 2008 when we found out we had been seized and handed over to JPMorgan Chase. We weren't surprised we were snatched up by another bank, but we were we disappointed it was Chase, which we knew would almost certainly eliminate all our jobs. As a marketer, the knowledge that Chase would impose its cold, tone deaf brand across our branch network, including Seattle, just added insult to injury. While I certainly wasn't privy to the conversations happening among WaMu executive team (thank God), I have to say the book largely reflects the perception that I believe most of the employees at headquarters had at the time. We thought WaMu's leaders, namely those in Home Loans, had completely lost their way and polluted the portfolio. We thought Kerry's pollyannaish view of the world totally outweighed the intellect that had made him a banking superstar. We thought our own executives' terrible decisions were due not only to their own greed and naivete, but also pressure from the secondary markets.
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I appreciated the lens Kristin Grind used to focus on the individuals, relationships, team dynamics, organizational structure, and culture that created this collapse. The players were human and flawed and lost sight of what was most important.

The scariest part of all of this is that nothing, absolutely nothing, has changed fundamentally in the system to prevent this type of thing from happening again. Different names and faces, but the same greed, selfishness and myopathy. We're now seeing it with Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan Chase.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is, IMHO, the best book written to date about the recent (2007-2008) financial crisis. *Much* finer writing than The Big Short. Rather than placing the blame solely on the bond rating agencies, this story offers a much broader perspective. Complicated financial concepts (asset back securities, CDOs, etc.) are explained in such a pleasurable way and in the context of a suspenseful story. Can't believe I found learning about the different regulatory agencies 'thrilling'. Sure, I'm a big nerd, but this book is the bomb!
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Format: Hardcover
This book held my interest so well that I finished it in record time (for me).
I thought the author explained the terminology of the finance industry well
without overwhelming the reader with detail. There was enough of a human interest
angle to make things interesting. My favorite part of the book was the day-to-day
section leading up to the collapse. I was happy to see the author included
numerical information frequently. Some examples of this were audit samples of
mortgages to measure the extent of poor documentation, the percentages of
subprime mortgages and option ARM mortgages, the daily outflow of cash during
the final days, and other financial data. I am an accountant so I live for numerical info.

If I could have anything more in the book it would be even more financial
information. Income Statements, Balance Sheets, 10Q filings, etc. Still, this
book provided much more numerical info then the previous book I read called "Too
Big to Fail".

If this subject interests you be sure to read this book.
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