Washington Mutual(“WA Mu”) was one of the leading consumer and small business banks in the US and an important part of the housing finance boom of the past decade. At December31,2007, WA Mu and its subsidiaries had assets of $328billion. The Company has a history dating back to 1889 and, until its seizure by regulators and sale in September2008, its subsidiary banks operated nearly2,500 consumer and small business banking stores through out the nation. The Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association filed articles of incorporation on September25,1889 , to offer its stockholders a safe and profitable vehicle for investing and lending. This allowed the Association to help Seattle residents rebuild after the fire. The company made the first monthly‐installment home loan on the Pacific Coast on February10,1890. The borrower, a Norwegian‐born se a man, used the $700 loan to build a house in Ballard, a neighborhood in Seattle. This creative amortized home loan proved so popular that the Association made more than 2,000 similar loans to help build 250 blocks of housing in Seattle.

On June 25,1908, the company changed its name to Washington Savings and Loan Association and again in 1917, when the country’s focus was on World War I ,the company converted to a mutual savings bank changing its name to WA Mu. “Washington Mutual expanded its assets during World War I by 68percent , thus escaping the impact of the recession that followed. The company emerged from the war years with a reputation as the strongest savings institution in the state of Washington.