The queue to get into Washington Mutual's large Santa Monica branch on Wilshire Boulevard started forming half an hour before the bank opened yesterday, writes Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles. The anxious faces of those in the line highlighted the uncertainty now surrounding its future.
Washington Mutual has been beset by rumours it would be the next retail bank to fail following the collapse of California-based IndyMac earlier in the summer.
But Monday night's cut of its credit rating to "junk" status was enough to persuade many of those queuing yesterday to get their money out of the bank.
"As soon as they downgraded it I decided to come and was here at 7am," said Lewanne Elwes, an artist manager. "I can't go on waking up in the middle of the night all worried after watching the news . . . I'm tired of this."
Fritzie Leao, who has had an account with WaMu for 15 years, said: "Last night was the clincher for me." Although US law protects account holders with deposits of less than $100,000 (€70,680, £56,000), she said she did not want to take chances.
Others waiting for the bank to open had other concerns.
"I've been thinking about getting my money out for weeks," said Steve Baker, another WaMu customer. "Then today I got an email from a friend who works in a bank downtown . . . apparently there's a rumour on the internet that they're going to close this afternoon."
As the line grew, some of those at the front began arguing about who was responsible for the banking crisis. "This is all because of deregulation," said Ms Elwes.
No comments:
Post a Comment