Washington Mutual, Morgan Stanley For Sale…. Any Buyers ?
It looks like the Wall Street garage sale is ongoing today as word comes down that both Washington Mutual and Morgan Stanley are looking for buyers to avoid possible collapse. Although neither company seems to be in the same position as others (I.E., in risk of immediate collapse) it does seem that they are in trouble.
The names being mentioned as possible buyers for Washington Mutual include Wells Fargo and Chase Bank along with Bank Of America (though they may be overstretched after last weekend). Other reports indicate that the government may be trying to bring together a group of buyers to take on the $300 billion plus company.
With regard to Morgan Stanley, potential suitors include Wachovia Bank as the primary purchaser though other groups are reportedly interested.
I personally am growing increasingly concerned about these consolidations. How long will it be before all of these companies end up being one giant corporation ?
And what happens if it gets in trouble ?
5 Responses to “Washington Mutual, Morgan Stanley For Sale…. Any Buyers ?”
The consolidation is worrying. It's very possible that future rules will need to be written which will effectively break the companies up.
[rolling eyes] There won't be “one giant corporation” [sic].
More concerning is the large increase taken in merging investments with banking; insurance logically will come next, followed possibly by, say, health care business.
“More concerning is the large increase taken in merging investments with banking; insurance logically will come next…”
Some bank holding companies already own insurance companies.
Well no there won't really be one big company, I was being somewhat facetious.
But we do seem to be getting down to a very small number of Wall Street companies left.
I never heard about http://www.wachoviabank.com like this before. Thank