Western students who have accounts with Washington Mutual will not notice much change in their banking, even after the bank’s failure and subsequent buyout by JP Morgan Chase on Sept. 25, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

JP Morgan Chase assumed all of WaMu’s assets, including branches, deposits and loans, leaving customers with no technicalities to deal with.

“This was a very seamless transaction from the customer’s perspective,” FDIC spokesperson Andrew Gray said.
Western junior and WaMu customer Cody Dickinson said she did not receive any notification of the switch to JP Morgan through the mail or telephone.

“I just heard about it in the news,” she said. “There was also a ‘Welcome to JP Morgan Chase’ thing on their Web site, but nothing other than that.”

According to transitional information provided for WaMu customers, accountholders will not have to do anything to activate their new JP Morgan Chase accounts and can still use their old debit cards and account numbers. A spokesperson for WaMu could not be reached.

Answers provided for former WaMu customers provided by the FDIC state:  “If you had an account with Washington Mutual Bank, you now have an account with JP Morgan Chase Bank.”

WaMu clients now also have access to Chase ATMs and branches.

Since the bank is insured by the FDIC, JP Morgan customers and the newly added WaMu customers should have no worries about being denied access to their money, even in the future, Gray said.

This means even if a bank fails, customers' money is safe up to $100,000, as insured by the FDIC. Customers have insurance up to $200,000 in joint accounts and up to $250,000 in retirement accounts.

If WaMu had not been bought out by another bank, customers would have still been guaranteed their money up to FDIC regulations.

“It just would have been a whole lot messier,” Gray said.

Dickenson said she isn't inclined to change banks.

“I will probably stick with [the new JP Morgan] unless the situation gets worse,” Dickinson said. “But as of now, I haven’t made any other plans.”

Customers will also see changes in the aesthetics of the bank. Branches, credit cards and statements will all be under the Chase name and logo, according to the JP Chase Web site. There is no date set for these changes.

Be first to comment on this article

Only registered users can post comments.
Please login or register.