Washington Mutual Hammered

If you thought Bank of America was bad, with their 32% profit hit last quarter, check out Washington Mutual's meltdown: a 72% drop in quarterly net income. The cause? Come on now! Mortgage related losses of course! From the Wall Street Journal (h/t Calculated Risk): Washington Mutual Inc. third-quarter net income plummeted 72%, as the company took a bruising hit to cover home-loan losses. ... "We're disappointed with our third quarter results but they reflect the increasingly difficult market conditions that are challenging the banking industry," said WaMu Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger. ... WaMu also had a $147 million write-down on mortgage loans it planned to sell but were instead were moved to the company's investment portfolio due to the summer's credit-mark