WaMu Shares Sink on Analyst's Concerns

Washington Mutual(WM Quote) shares plunged 13% on Thursday after an analyst said that creditors "have been quietly pulling funds from the bank."

Gimme Credit analyst Kathleen Shanley said she was not convinced the Seattle thrift's outlook was as conservative as rivals like JPMorgan(JPM Quote). While she noted the bank boosted its loan loss provision this quarter and is "'comfortably' well-capitalized under regulatory standards," she cited potential liquidity challenges for WaMu.

"We won't use the phrase 'run' on the bank, but we would be remiss if we did not observe that many creditors have quietly been pulling funds from the bank," Shanley writes. "With unsecured creditors taking a giant step backwards, the combined percentage of the balance sheet funded by deposits and the Federal Home Loan Banks has increased to 78%, up from 75% at year-end and 71% a year ago." ...