Photo Pop Quiz: Name that bank (Update)

This photo (please excuse the poor quality) was taken in a Los Angeles-area bank over the weeken and cropped so that you can't see the bank's logo. Here's the quiz: Which bank has this "limited"  5%-interest offering on CDs?

Update: Yes, as most of you guessed correctly, it's WAMU.

--Peter Viles

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to Peter Viles

Photo Credit: L.A. Land

Comments

[Pearl]

Washington Mutual?

[150 Multiple Choice Questions]

I'll throw out an unresearched, shot-in-the-dark guess...

Wamu?

[eprobert]

WAMU -

Wooo hoooo!!

LOL

[Rob]

WAMU.... or Downey...

[mike]

i think(off this subject) that we have all been trying too hard to predict a bottem to this real estate market. we have been trying to predict a bottem now for more than a year . i think we will start to see it level off slowly(in 2-3 more years like real estate always does) and then we will find ourselves slowly starting to talk about how sellers are'nt accepting any offer that comes their way and the conversation will gradually start to turn to how prices are slowly starting to tick back up and inventory is coming down. etc.etc.etc... but i believe all this talk about trying to time the market and buy at the perfect time is a bunch of nonsence.

[adoptivefather]

What I find interesting is that this ad begging you to loan money to the bank contains far greater details than most of the so called documented real estate loans made over the last several of years.

You can never have too much information when making loans!

[Schroeder]

I don't understand those who say not to "time" the housing market. I think you would be crazy NOT to try to time the market in L.A. right now. What about those who didn't "time" the market in 2006? I can't afford to buy a house now and watch the value drop, especially in this ridiculously over-priced city.

[bode]

Come on Peter, behind the times! That sign was at Washington Mutual, and those rates are no longer available (new CEO, trying to survive, etc). As far as Downey goes, they cannot offer a rate that high because they reached a formal agreement with their regulator (OTS). As part of their double-secret propbation they have an upper rate they can offer on deposits, and I suspect 5% exceeds it.

[puckhead]

I think the bank in question needs a new Marketing dept. The neighborhoods kids had a lemonade stand over the weekend that had a better quality sign.

[Uncle Billy Has Bad Teeth]

PeterBank?

[peteviles]

Bode writes, "Come on Peter, behind the times! That sign was at Washington Mutual, and those rates are no longer available."

Thanks, Bode. The picture was taken Saturday Sept. 13.

[El Guapo]

WAMU

[AK]

WAMU;-)

[E]

No money left for the fancy widow murals/paintings?

How long until the signs are written in crayon on the back of a napkin?

[356man]

A lot of guesses for WAMU. Makes sense, they like the "dry marker/whiteboard" routine but it wasn't taken at my branch since the letters haven't been obliterated yet by the little darlings of customers.

[They Say 2+2=5]

A branch of the Bank Of Satanistan (located deep inside the mountains of the Rogue Valley in SoOre)

[mbob]

Bode

Either hit "spell check" or find a night school for remedial English.

Pete

Countrywide Savings (aka BofA)?

[Ragnar]

"A branch of the Bank Of Satanistan (located deep inside the mountains of the Rogue Valley in SoOre)"

Posted by: They Say 2+2=5 | September 15, 2008 at 12:46 PM

Huh???????

[anon1137]

Your WaMu deposits at work (from Ben's blog):

“Units at Brookhaven Condominiums at the corner of 15th Avenue and Escondido Boulevard were the only condos to sell in 2008 for more than $300 per square foot. The average price in the area was $141 per square foot, according to Sandicor. Not only did the condos sell at double the price of comparable units, but banks also approved loans that carried very little down payments. For one unit, Washington Mutual approved a no-money-down mortgage in December 2007 at the price. Seven months later, a notice of default was filed on the condo, according to county records.”

[bode]

Oops, next time I'll spell check my Animal House references better. ;)

The reason I cracked down on Peter is that this has been mentioned elsewhere, both in pictures and in words, for nearly three weeks:

Here's CalculatedRisk on August 25:

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/08/wamu-offering-5-12-month-cds.html

If you do a google search for WAMU 5% CD you'll see hundreds of articles from the last week of August and beyond, across both mortgage sites and "smart investment" sites (yes, some people trust the full faith and credit of the United States government).

So I guess my original point was, if this wasn't news in late August, why now (because it's 13 months and not 12)? WM is no closer to insolvency now than they were on the 25th, but they are under closer regulatory scrutiny. A run on the bank could happen, but at best right now it is a slow-moving train wreck.

Final comment: I read a lot about "too big to fail." Well, they aren't too big to fail, but if they do, it's the taxpayers footing the bill. If anyone reading this lost money in the LEH bankruptcy, it's because they were investors. If WM goes under, we'll all be shareholders. It's not in our interests to cheer on the collapse of the bank, and luckily, they might squeak by. Otherwise, we'll all be footing the bill, and that won't be cheap.

[Cassiopoea]

Limited Only? Huh? Do they mean "Limited Time Only?" Or "Limited Intelligence Only?" Limited what?

I have an account at WaMu -- most of the money I've been saving for a downpayment, as a matter of fact. I just opened an account at Wells Fargo today.

[bode]

For those interested in making a decent return, here's a site chronicling the ups and downs of the WM CDs. As you can see, the rate did come and go, and continues to bounce around:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/855233/

As of 9/15, 1 pm PDT, it does not appear that the 5% CD is available online, only the 4%:

https://www.wamu.com/personal/certificate_deposit/online_cd/default.asp

[l.a.guy]

"was taken in a Los Angeles-area bank over the WEEKEN and cropped"

Don't you mean "weaken"? :-)

[anony]

I'm assuming at some point during this day, Pete you will tell us which bank it is??

It should be BofA since they are buying everything these days...but I suspect it isn't them. Is it Wells Fargo? Just throwing that one in for the heck of it...it probably is Wamu. By the way Wamu sucks!!

[adoptivefather]

If anybody is willing to give me money now I'll pay 6%.

Just can't give any assurances that I will pay you back but neither can anybody else so I'm offering the better deal.