by Calculated Risk on 9/23/2008 09:58:00 AM

From the Financial Times: Pressure mounts for WaMu sale

Washington Mutual was under mounting pressure from regulators yesterday to reach a deal with prospective buyers that would put the beleaguered US bank in stronger hands.

The Office of Thrift Supervision was pushing for a speedy solution, said people familiar with the talks.

If no outright buyer emerges in the coming days, the regulator could push to broker a deal that would split WaMu between several banks. The consortium would share WaMu's attractive deposit base and retail branch network, and would also share the bank's troubled mortgage portfolio.

Another possibility is that the interested banks will let the FDIC close WaMu, the FDIC will take the toxic mortgage portfolio, and then the banks will buy the attractive assets from the FDIC.