by Calculated Risk on 10/17/2007 06:19:00 PM

From the WSJ: Washington Mutual Net Dives 72%

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-market seizure that essentially dried up demand for mortgage-related securities.

In addition, the firm recorded $153 million in trading losses and losses of $104 million on investment-grade mortgage-backed securities that are available for sale.

And from Reuters: Washington Mutual CEO sees no end to housing slump

"We were going through an orderly correction in the housing market until the middle of the year, when there was a significant falloff," [Washington Mutual Chief Executive Kerry Killinger] said in an interview. "That has continued in the fourth quarter, accelerated by the lack of liquidity in the capital markets.

"We are not making projections as to when the market will stabilize," he added. "At this point, we have not seen signs of stabilization."

The losses keep piling up with no end in sight.