Banks Face Capital Punishment

In addition, its ratio of nonperforming assets to core capital and reserves was second highest behind National City(NCC Quote) at 25.29%, up from 19.11% in the previous quarter, TheStreet.com Ratings found. Most banks and thrifts surveyed showed a ratio below 10%.

Friedman Billings' Miller is concerned about WaMu's exposure to $58 billion of pay-option adjustable-rate mortgages -- in which borrowers can choose one of several payment options depending on how fast they want to pay off the loan -- $62 billion of home-equity lines of credit, $20 billion of subprime mortgages and $40 billion of credit card receivables.

"We believe the current capital raise will be insufficient to get through the next few quarters and we expect further capital raises in the coming months," he writes.

But David Hendler, an analyst at CreditSights, estimates the company's capital ratios should remain above well-capitalized levels as long as WaMu's net losses remain below $4 billion at least through the end of 2008.

Countrywide Clings to Dividend

Now that WaMu severely curtailed the dividend that shareholders will receive, some expect Countrywide to cut its dividend to add to its capital levels.

Countrywide, the nation's largest independent mortgage lender, has had a challenging 2007 to say the least. Among other problems, the lender -- mainly reliant on selling the mortgages it originates into the secondary market -- faced a liquidity crisis so large this summer that some investors feared the company would fail.