Triple Whammy Hits WaMu

Washington Mutual (WM Quote) tumbled 7% early Thursday, a day after the Seattle-based bank posted a lousy third quarter.

The Seattle-based bank made $210 million, or 23 cents a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from the year-ago $748 million, or 77 cents a share. WaMu said its loan loss provision increased to $967 million from $372 million in the prior quarter in response to higher delinquencies and impacts from recent house price trends.

The announcement comes two weeks after WaMu warned that profit would drop around 75% from a year ago, hit by heavy loss provisions and big writedowns.

TheStreet.com Ratings reported in August that WaMu could face serious liquidity problems amid a sharp downturn in its bread-and-butter home mortgage business.

The news comes as Bank of America (BAC Quote) reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter numbers, on the heels of similarly disappointing results at Citi (C Quote).

Shares fell $2.47 to $30.60.