understanding a catastrophe like a banking receivership is about the same as a person having a stock brokerage margin account......once the value of your borrowed assets falls below the cost of the margin, one becomes into negative equity, which means you get a call to bring in more money to offset the losses in the margin account... failing to do this, the brokerage LIQUIDATES your assets at current market prices... whatever equity is in your account is seized for payment, and is lost...whatever dividends your assets produce IS LOST..now, you still owe the brokerage house any deficit in your account... you can file bankruptcy, and probably get relief.... but you do not get any money pre bankruptcy filing returned to you... it is lost forever, and forfeited to the brokerage house... same as with WAMU, when they were place in receivership, all former equity is gone.. (20.7) billion....actually, if it were not for Nate Toma informing the judge for insider trading, shareholders were not going to receive anything.... just what were insiders trading for?.... JPM had informed the SNH that a GSA had been reached and that WMI was awarded 6.5 billion for ALL OF THEIR CLAIMS AND GRANT RELEASES..., and that the creditor classes of claims would be paid 100 % face value , plus interest... they were not trading for Safe Harbor assets, or any other hidden off balance sheet assets.....Lodas