You're giving us too much credit to call us the "bull". We're up in the stands watching the show and are far too removed from the real action in the ring to care or act.

But, whatever, I'm rapidly descending into crazy town so what do I know. Maybe I should carry on this conversation with dbk instead...

But into which bank should I put my money? The financial markets are in such shambles now, no bank is really immune. Unless something changes, they're going to start failing one-by-one.

Eventually, the FDIC that insures all banks, will also run out of money. Like during the crisis McCain helped create, the FDIC will require a US Government financed bailout. If the bailout gets big enough, the US government itself will become insolvent.

If the US government becomes insolvent, the dollar itself will become valueless; even if I take all my money out as cash and stuff it under my mattress, I will still be functionally broke.

If I take my dollars now, and convert them to some other currency, they too will become valueless when the entire global economy crashes--because the entire global economy is propped up by the US economy.

In short, this isn't a problem that can be solved by switching where I, as an individual, bank. We need a broad, governmental solution. Regulation, to restore investor confidence.

Any advice for those of us that have mortgages at WaMu?

Not real sure why you think WaMu will be insolvent. The article you linked to doesn't support that conclusion. The MOU (an informal enforcement tool - only used when the OTS determines the institution's overall condition is sound) with the OTS (the regulating agency) doesn't even require new capital or liquidity, which means the regulators don't think WaMu will become insolvent. This isn't the company spin, this is the regulating agency view.

and we had better things to Gore back then...

Dan @9: There is a huge difference between a debtor versus a creditor. If you have a mortgage with Washington Mutual, you owe them money. Even if the bank goes tits up, you'll still owe, just to a different creditor.

Please pay, because you're payments help keep the bank solvent enough to pay back the money I gave to them.

It's creditors, people who gave money to WaMu--not those who borrowed money from WaMu, like your mortgage--who would be really affected by a collapse.

If you have debt with WaMu and it fails, it really doesn't matter. The bank's asset (your loan) will be sold to another lender as part of the liquidation, so the only difference you'll really notice is that you'll get a new billing statement from a different servicer.

Just be careful to check that the balance, payments received and terms are the same as with WaMu because fuckups have been known to happen when transferring a loan from one lender to another.

What we should really be worried about is when Christofascist Ayatollah Sarah "Talibunny" Palin seizes power after Psychogeezer inevitably croaks, and her last English words are demanding the nookyoolar launch codes before she begins convulsing and speaking in tongues.

P.S. You won't need to worry about your amortization schedule at that point.

Just curious.

Same rate, same terms. As Original Andrew pointed out @15, you should check to be sure this happens if and when the transfer occurs.

It's a good time to keep your mortgage statements well organized.

Same deal with your checking and savings account statements. The FDIC might ask for them. Print 'em out, at least.

No, they are not allowed to change the terms of your mortgage. Your mortgage is sold as-is with all the original terms that you agreed to. These are often snatched up for pennies on the dollar during a bankruptcy.

Either we have a recession, possible depression, or we have 17 years of stagnation ala Japan. If you look at the similarities between Japan of the later 80s and now in regards to the credit and bubble, it doesnt look pretty.

I'd rather go through a recession and come out on the other side better for it than come out 15 years from now with the same faulty systems in place.

This is probs gonna be more than you ever ever ever wanted to know, but:

The new servicer has to go by whatever is on the note. So if you have a fixed, it stays fixed. If you have an ARM, it can adjust according to the terms.

It's really a technical issue because the transfers are all done electronically with the physical file (which some lenders have eliminated altogether in favor of document images, that was well thought-out) following months or years later, and you may have two otherwise incompatible loan servicing programs talking to each other.

Also, depending on the timing of the transfer, a payment might be credited at one lender after the loan data was transferred to the other lender, so the loan balances may not match, etc. Or--horrors--the new lender has loans with identical loan numbers to the old lender and your payment gets credited to someone else's loan. Eeeeek!

Anyone know about them?

Bellevue Ave @ 22,

You should also mention that we're all uppity, sexist, socialist Mooslems determined to violently overthrow our Gawd-installed Republican Party government in favor of a 10,000 year caliphate.

But yeah, life will go on even after all those ooey-gooey ones and zeroes turn into just plain-old zeroes.

It's time to take your money out of banks, bury it in your backyard and invest in guns! To the hills!

I completely agree, these problems are solvable. And I also, as I indicated in my post, believe that even a little talk about the problem by the candidates would help quite a bit.

But, as Sarah Palin demonstrates, so long as the rodeo continues to dominate, things will continue to get worse. The rodeo is all the republicans have.

Fnarf @ 27,

Can you imagine how that call went last Friday:

…ring…ring…

HENRY PAULSON: Dubya? Yeah, it’s Henry and yes, I know you’re trying to watch the playoffs. Just in time for the Friday afternoon news dump. Wanted to let you know I’ve talked to the unholy, evil Star Chamber of foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds, third world despots and mutual fund managers that actually own the smoking, gang-banged corpses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to let them know that they’re all gonna git paid-off.

Yesssiiirreee! Big time cashola. In Euros, too! Not that phony dollar shit!

Also, we need to add $5 trillion to the national debt, kthnxbi!

The rodeo is staged, gold circle goat-ropers and clowns.
A rumble in the third act, tie 'em up and burn 'em down...
We're armed to the teeth, born a little breech;
Blue-plate special analysts, cells and SUV's

In a newer song he sings "Hold tight your babies and your guns." Did Senator Obama say something like this?

Credit unions have their own, parallel universe deposit insurance system:

http://www.ncua.gov/ShareInsurance/index.htm

The credit union has to have the insurance--that's the key.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-nickolas/still-no-answer-why-mccai_b_116237.html

Really Jonathan?

“decades of Republican Party domination”?

Here’s how control has broken out that last five decades:

1999-2008
White House: Republican 8 years; Democrat 2
Senate: Republican 6 years; Democrat 4
House of Reps: Republican 8 years; Democrat 2
Control: Republican by 22 to 8

1989-1998
White House: Democrat 6 years; Republican 4
Senate: Democrat 7 years; Republican 3
House of Reps: Democrat 7 years; Republican 3
Control: Democrat by 20 to 10

1979-1988
White House: Republican 8 years; Democrat 2
Senate: Republican 6 years; Democrat 4
House of Reps: Democrat 10 years; Republican 0
Control: Democrat by 16 to 14

1969-1978
White House: Republican 8 years; Democrat 2
Senate: Democrat 10 years; Republican 0
House of Reps: Democrat 10 years; Republican 0
Control: Democrat by 22 to 8

1959-1968
White House: Democrat 8 years; Republican 2
Senate: Democrat 10 years; Republican 0
House of Reps: Democrat 10 years; Republican 0
Control: Democrat by 28 to 2

That’s control by Democrats 4 out of the last 5 decades…

I’ll give you “decade” but not “decades”.

If the US economy becomes insolvent, the entire world is fucked, at least temporarily. But, who will rise from the ashes?

Even if you're not ready to buy RMB, you should at least learn to speak Mandarin.