WaMu Retail Banking Chief Out (Update)
06/30/08 - 02:05 PM EDT
Laurie Kulikowski
Washington Mutual(WM Quote - Cramer on WM - Stock Picks) is looking for a new head of retail banking.
The Seattle-based thrift said in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that James Corcoran, its president of retail banking arm, has left the company. COO Stephen Rotella will assume Corcoran's responsibilities until WaMu selects a permanent successor, it said. Details in the SEC filing were minimal. Corcoran was responsible for overseeing the company's retail branches and products, small business banking, direct consumer lending businesses and WM Financial Services, among other things, according to WaMu's Web site. WaMu's nationwide retail banking franchise has remained a strong point for the company, which is beefing up its investment in the business as it downsizes its troubled home lending arm. A company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that Corcoran has left the firm "to pursue other career interests." "Retail is the largest and most profitable part of our banking franchise, and with Mr. Rotella at the helm it is in very capable hands," the statement said. Credit deterioration in WaMu's residential mortgage portfolio has been significant as housing prices sharply fell, forcing the nation's largest thrift to raise $7 billion in capital from a group of institutional investors led by TPG as well as a restructuring of the company away from mortgage broker-originated home loans. Other banks, including Citigroup (C Quote - Cramer on C - Stock Picks), Wachovia (WB Quote - Cramer on WB - Stock Picks) and National City (NCC Quote - Cramer on NCC - Stock Picks) have also been particularly hit hard by the latest credit cycle. WaMu recorded a net loss in the first quarter of 2008 of $1.14 billion, or $1.40 a share, compared with net income of $784 million, or 86 cents a share in the first quarter of 2007.
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