WaMu cuts 1,200 jobs

WaMu, a bank that I consider one of the most under-discussed potential failure candidates as this credit crisis worsens, reported job cuts for 1,200 positions across the country in an effort to reduce costs and trudge back towards profitability. WaMu has huge exposure to option ARM loans, with a ton of their profit booked as deferred interest "earned" on those loans and some of the smallest loan loss reserves out of any of the big depositories. From Market Watch on the layoffs: Washington Mutual  said Thursday that it is cutting 1,200 more jobs as part of the lender's efforts to reduce costs and return to profitability. More than half of the job cuts — 775 positions — are in California and Florida, two formerly booming real estate markets that have been hit hard b