Mr Cooper Group Inc (COOP)

[jcJet12]

jhd51,

This is pretty much it in a nutshell, although the links may not work. Happy reading.

> SEPTEMBER 2008 WAMU TAKEDOWN CHRONOLOGY

> Early Sept:
> Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made it clear to
> WaMu that the company should have accepted the takeover deal J.P.
> Morgan had offered earlier this year, according to a person close to
> WaMu.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238415586576687.html?mod=special_p

> Sept. 4:
> Three weeks before J.P. Morgan bought WaMu’s deposits for $1.9
> billion, officials at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had
> called J.P. Morgan to say that the FDIC was carefully monitoring WaMu
> and that a seizure of its assets was likely.http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/09/29/how-jp-morgan-raised-115-billio...

> Sept. 8:
> Alan H. Fishman becomes CEOhttp://newsroom.wamu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=189529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID...

> Sept. 8:
> WaMu also announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of
> Understanding (MOU) with the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
> concerning aspects of the bank’s operations, principally in several
> areas of its risk management and compliance functions, including its
> Bank Secrecy Act compliance program. In addition, WaMu has committed
> to provide the OTS an updated, multi-year business plan and forecast
> for its earnings, asset quality, capital and business segment
> performance. The business plan will not require the company to raise
> capital, increase liquidity or make changes to the products and
> services it provides to customers.

> Sept. 11:
> WaMu Provides Update on Expectations for Third Quarter Performance
> -- Provision expected to be approximately $1.4 billion less than
> second quarter while company continues to build reserves
> -- Long-term credit outlook unchanged
> -- Liquidity stable at approximately $50 billion
> -- Capital significantly above "well-capitalized" levelshttp://newsroom.wamu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=189529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID...

> Sept. 11:
> "We're aware of it and we're monitoring it," said William Ruberry, a
> spokesman for the Office of Thrift Supervision, WaMu's primary
> regulatory, on Thursday.http://www.azcentral.com/business/news/articles/2008/09/12/20080912bi...

> Sept. 12:
> Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Foran upgraded the stock to "Neutral" from
> "Sell," saying the company may have enough cash to avoid having to
> raise capital, possibly by selling shares. However, that would dilute
> the value of existing shares.
> "Capital and reserves seem to be stable in the quarter, thus, even
> though losses continue to deliver body blows to the bank, the equity
> base is absorbing the pain and another capital raise might be
> avoidable," Foran wrote in a note to investors.http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:H89nx1_6SF0J:www.forbes.com/feed...

> Sept. 12:
> Shares spiked in midafternoon trading following reports from American
> Banker and Reuters that the Seattle bank was in advanced talks with
> JPMorgan Chase & Co. about a possible buyout deal. According to a
> person close to JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, however, the
> bank is not in talks with WaMu. The person spoke on condition of
> anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. Dimon would not be
> interested in acquiring WaMu without a clearer picture of the risk in
> the bank's loan portfolio, the source said.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/12/BUQ512T57...

> Sept. 12:
> But by Friday morning sources were saying the Seattle thrift company
> was in detailed talks to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A deal
> might never be struck, but sources said Alan Fishman, Wamu's new chief
> executive, has held discussions this week with James Dimon, the
> chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.http://www.onwallstreet.com/asset/article/699391/wamus-weekmdashbalan...

> Sept. 12:
> Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Friday confirmed the investment-
> grade ratings on WaMuhttp://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:H89nx1_6SF0J:www.forbes.com/feed...

> Sep 15:
> SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 2008--In response to today's
> ratings action by Standard & Poor's, Washington Mutual, Inc. (NYSE:WM)
> issued the following statement:
> "The change in Standard & Poor's ratings for Washington Mutual
> announced today brings S&P's ratings in line with those announced last
> week by Moody's. However, it's important to note that S&P attributed
> its action to worsening market conditions, and not to any material
> change in the evaluation of Washington Mutual's financial condition.
> S&P's ratings for Washington Mutual Bank remain investment grade.
> None of Washington Mutual, Inc.'s or Washington Mutual Bank's
> unsecured debt is subject to ratings-based financial covenants that
> would result in acceleration or early maturity events or defaults. The
> company does not expect the impact of S&P's actions on borrowings,
> collateral or margin requirements to be material."
> WaMu's capital levels at quarter end are expected to remain
> significantly above the levels required of "well capitalized"
> institutions. The company's outlook for expected credit losses is
> unchanged.http://newsroom.wamu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=189529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID...

> Week of Sept 15:
> As pressure mounted on WaMu over the past two and a half weeks,
> regulators sparred over how to handle the situation, according to
> people familiar with the matter. Last week WaMu met in Washington,
> D.C., with the FDIC and OTS, WaMu's chief regulator. WaMu, according
> to a person familiar with the situation, asked for the meeting because
> it had received conflicting information from the two agencies. The
> tension between the two groups was palpable, this person said. The
> FDIC, this person said, was more aggressive in describing the
> information it wanted from the thrift.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238415586576687.html?mod=special_p

> Sept. 16:
> Per the OTS -- WaMu became ``unsound'' after customers withdrew $16.7
> billion since Sept. 16.http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a0vATDE_peNk

> Sept. 17
> Washington Mutual repeats it has enough capital to operate
> Associated Press - September 17, 2008 3:35 PM ET
> SEATTLE (AP) - A spokeswoman for Washington Mutual says the company is
> standing by last week's statement that it has enough capital to
> operate while it returns to profitability. Spokeswoman Olivia Riley
> says the company has been pretty transparent. Washington Mutual said
> it expects provisions for bad loans in the third quarter to be $4.5
> billion. It lost $3 billion in the second quarter and set aside $8
> billion for bad loans.http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=9027150&nav=men...

> Sept. 17:
> TPG, the Texas-based private equity group that led a $7.2 billion
> investment in Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) in April, said it is
> willing to accept a dilution of its stake in the company in the event
> of outside investment or sale.
> In a statement, TPG said the move was in the best interests of
> Washington Mutual. “Our goal is to maximize the bank’s flexibility in
> this difficult market environment.”http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/09/15/daily33.html

> Sept. 18:
> The OTS waited until Sept. 18 to designate WaMu as a problem
> institution, a week before the savings-and-loan giant became the
> largest federally insured bank to topple in U.S. history. Banks and
> thrifts identified with problems are put under tighter government
> scrutiny. The OTS's reluctance to downgrade WaMu came despite heavy
> pressure from the FDIC, which was charged with backing a huge portion
> of the bank's $188 billion in deposits. Tensions between the two
> regulators dragged on for weeks.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247247562180981.html?mod=googlenew...

> Sept. 18:
> OTS – Issued overall composite ratings downgradehttp://files.ots.treas.gov/730021.pdf

> Sept 18:
> Washington Mutual Inc's (NYSE:WM - News) books are being examined by
> five banks during the auction process, the Financial Times reported on
> Thursday.http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080918/wamu_books.html?.v=1

> Sept. 18:
> Fishman letter to customers—
> When I was recently approached about the opportunity to lead this
> great company, I did my homework to satisfy myself that WaMu has the
> capital, the liquidity, and the business plan to serve your needs and
> protect your money through these challenging times.
> Let me explain why I felt good about joining WaMu.
> All financial institutions have been affected by the turmoil in the
> mortgage and financial markets, but WaMu is very different from the
> investment banks, such as Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and
> Merrill Lynch, that you may have read about. Those firms have very
> different and less stable sources of funding than we do. WaMu’s
> business is funded largely through the deposits that customers like
> you put with us. We also borrow billions of dollars from the Federal
> Home Loan Banks system. Most importantly, your deposits are insured to
> the limits established by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
> (FDIC). (WaMu partners at your local WaMu store are happy to work with
> you to maximize your FDIC insurance coverage.)
> Capital ratios describe the financial strength of a bank. Our ratios
> continue to be well in excess of the levels that government regulators
> require of “well capitalized” institutions. We also have an ample
> supply of funds on hand to meet your needs and the needs of our other
> customers and our day-to-day operations.http://www.kirotv.com/download/2008/0919/17516636.pdf

> Sept. 18:
> WaMu declined to comment on Wednesday’s developments, but issued a
> letter to be passed out to customers at its 2,200 branches saying it
> remains financially sound, and had gained 250,000 new customers in the
> second quarter alone.
> “The entire leadership team wants to make sure you know that WaMu has
> the liquidity and capital strength it needs to manage through this
> period,” President Steve Rotella said in the letter.http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/09/15/daily33.html

> Sept. 19:
> Washington Mutual issued a statement Friday, saying the troubled
> Seattle-based thrift is encouraged by the government's bailout plan
> announced Friday.
> "We're encouraged by the direction of the plan proposed by the
> President, Treasury and the Federal Reserve to support the troubled
> financial markets. We look forward to seeing the details as the plan
> is further developed by Congress. This plan should assist in providing
> stability to our financial markets and should provide a mechanism for
> an orderly transition of troubled illiquid assets," the statement
> said.http://www.kirotv.com/money/17512560/detail.html

> Sept. 22:
> Earlier this week, a source close to theFDICsuggested to HW that
> regulators at the OTS were putting pressure on WaMu to find a deal
> before Friday of this week. “Either a deal gets done this week in the
> private market, or a deal will get done via theFDIC,” our source
> said.http://www.housingwire.com/2008/09/25/speculation-of-private-equity-b...

> Sept. 22:
> But a very serious new wrinkle emerged on Monday, with reports
> suggesting that the Office of Thrift Supervision is pressuring WaMu
> executives to sell, and sell quickly. According to the Financial
> Times, if one buyer doesn't emerge, the federal regulatory agency may
> split up WaMu between all the interested buyers, forcing each to take
> a share of its assets (the branch network and deposits) and
> liabilities (all those bad mortgages).http://www.washingtonceo.com/home/blogs/post/article/313/investor-ang...

> Sept 23:
> J.P. Morgan was well-prepared, then, when theFDICasked for bids on
> Tuesday, Sept. 23.http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7b53427860-801...

> Sept. 23:
> The Office of Thrift Supervision is pushing Washington Mutual to find
> a buyer and is considering brokering a deal to break it up between
> several banks, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar
> with the talks.

> Sept. 23:
> Friday's proposed federal mortgage bailout increases WaMu's chances of
> surviving independently, but it also increases its attractiveness to
> potential buyers.http://www.washingtonceo.com/home/blogs/post/article/313/investor-ang...

> Sept. 24:
> In WaMu's case, theFDICset a Wednesday evening deadline for
> interested parties to submit their offers for various parts of WaMu…
> On Wednesday night, the regulators told J.P. Morgan that the bank had
> won the bidding, one person close to the situation said.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238415586576687.html?mod=special_p

> Sept. 24:
> S&P Cuts WaMu, Cites Breakup Concerns
> Woes are clearly mounting for troubled thrift Washington Mutual (WM:
> 0.1604 0.00%), which saw Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services cut its
> ratings on the Seattle-based thrift further into junk territory on
> Wednesday, following an earlier ratings cut by rival agency Moody’s
> Investors Service earlier this week.
> For its part, S&P said that it was concerned that a breakup of the
> bank holding company would adversely affect creditors.http://www.housingwire.com/2008/09/24/sp-cuts-wamu-cites-breakup-conc...

> Sept. 25:
> The Office of Thrift Supervision, which regulated the thrift, said on
> Sept 25 that Washington Mutual did not have enough liquidity to pay
> its debts, and was in an "unsafe and unsound condition to transact
> business."http://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch/evaluate/news/basicNewsStory....

> Sept. 25:
> During the consummation conference call, Jamie Dimon disclosed that
> JPM had unprecedented access to WaMu’s mortgage detail. JPM received
> computer tapes with the most granular mortgage detail (FICO scores,
> LTVs, and MSAs) to compare with their own data and develop loss
> projections. JPM had the time to do a true bottom up analysis.http://seekingalpha.com/article/97717-did-the-fdic-sabotage-wamu-s-ma...

> Sept. 25:
> Maintaining Capital - In late 2006 and 2007, WMB began to build its
> capital level through asset shrinkage and the sale of lower-yielding
> assets. In April 2008,WMIreceived $7.0 billion of new capital from
> the issuance of common stock. Since
> December 2007,WMIinfused $6.5 billion into WMB. WMB met the well-
> capitalized standards through the date of receivership.http://files.ots.treas.gov/730021.pdf

> Sept. 26:
> (Director of OTS John) Reich speculated there would have been more
> bidders for WaMu had potential buyers not been so distracted by a
> contested $700 billion government plan aimed at stabilizing the
> financial sector by purchasing bad mortgage assets from financial
> institutions.http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/withdrawals-customers-ultimatel...

> Sept. 27:
> Without a seamless sale of WaMu to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. on
> Thursday, the costs to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. could have
> been significant. "It was very fortunate that we had time to bid it
> out and we had a high bid," Ms. Bair said.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247247562180981.html?mod=googlenew...

> Sept. 28:
> In the process the OTS and theFDIChave effectively removed the main
> low-cost source of funds of pretty well all banks in America. They
> will have put the fear-of-Government into such people globally. This
> is the opposite of moral hazard. In the Moral hazard case people take
> too many risks because they believe the government will reimburse
> their losses. But in this case people are going to take too few risks
> because they know that government might unilaterally remove their
> rights and property.
> This was – by far – the least justified government action of this
> credit cycle. And it spells doom for any bank in America that is
> ultimately reliant senior (and hence well protected) but unsecured
> financing because it is so capricious.http://brontecapital.blogspot.com/2008/09/reckless-irresponsible-seiz...

> Oct. 8:
> Sen. Maria Cantwell wants federal regulators to explain the timing and
> sequence of decisions and actions that led to the seizure and sale of
> Washington Mutual's banking operations.
> The Washington Democrat said the answers she gets will determine
> whether to pursue an inquiry into the Sept. 25 takeover of the bank,
> such as formal hearings.
> In raising the issue, Cantwell is echoing the complaints of many WaMu
> shareholders who were left with virtually worthless stock in the
> parent holding company once the Office of Thrift Supervision took over
> the subsidiary bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sold most
> of the operations to JPMorgan Chase.http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/382407_cantwellwamu09.html?sou...