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Washington Mutual stock gains 22%(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 12--Stock in Washington Mutual Inc., a Seattle bank with nearly 2,500 employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, gained back some of the dramatic losses it suffered earlier this week, rising 22 percent Thursday. The gain came after three consecutive days of declines, as the company replaced its chief executive and investors fled the exposure to risky mortgages. The company's stock closed at $2.83 Thursday. It had fallen almost 30 percent the day before. In a statement Thursday, Washington Mutual said it expected to set aside $4.5 billion to pay for bad loans in the third quarter, down from $5.9 billion in the second quarter. It said its interest income in the third quarter would be in line with its level in the second quarter, while noninterest income would rise. It also said it expected to build reserves and have "sufficient liquidity and capital to support its operations while it returns to profitability." Three North Texans sit on Washington Mutual's board of directors: Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert; Regina Montoya, a Dallas lawyer; and David Bonderman, a Fort Worth private equity executive. The bank has more than 100 retail branches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, an Arlington credit card call center and an Irving center providing back-office support functions. Thursday, Mr. Leppert made reassuring comments about the bank's condition. "The feeling is that there's sufficient capital and good things ahead," Mr. Leppert said. "But that's about as far as I can go. I'm not a designated spokesman," he added. Washington Mutual declined to comment Thursday, as did Ms. Montoya and Mr. Bonderman. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Washington Mutual shares from "stable" to "negative" earlier this week. But S&P analyst Victoria Wagner said the firm had "solid" regulatory capital. Washington Mutual's new chief executive, Alan Fishman, has pledged to turn the company around. But some banking industry analysts say the bank faces a challenging future and may end up getting sold. To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |