Bank watch: Investors hammer WAMU, Downey Financial

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

If you are a bank or a thrift, today is not a good day to be in the spotlight. Washington Mutual is in the spotlight.

From Bloomberg News: ‘Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan, fell the most since it went public in 1983 after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said the lender may report $26 billion in losses this year.’

WAMU shares at 11:25 PDT this morning were down 32%, or $1.59 for the day, at $3.36, representing a decline of 91.5% over the last year.

A local bank to watch: Downey Financial. From this morning’s New York Times: ‘In recent weeks, the share prices of some regional banks, like the BankUnited Financial Corporation, in Florida, and the Downey Financial Corporation, in California, have stumbled hard amid concern about their financial health.’

Downey shares at 11:25 PDT this morning were down 12.4%, or 21 cents for the day, at $1.48, representing a decline of 97.7% over the last year.

Your thoughts? Other local banks you’d like to see included in coverage? E-mail story tips to [email protected].