Washington Mutual Lists $8 Billion Debt in Bankruptcy

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Mutual Inc., a holding company for the savings and loan that became the biggest U.S. bank to fail, listed more than $8 billion in debt in its bankruptcy filing in Wilmington, Delaware.

WaMu, the 119-year-old Seattle-based thrift, sought Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court late yesterday, according to court records. The filing covered the bank's holding company and its WMI Investment Corp. unit. WaMu's banking subsidiary was seized Sept. 25 by U.S. government regulators after customers withdrew $16.7 billion over 10 days.

``The expectation is we may see more banks being forced to take this route,'' said Kevin Mangan, a Wilmington bankruptcy lawyer with Womble Caryle Sandridge & Rice who isn't involved in the case.

WaMu is the latest victim of the credit crunch, which forced New York-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc. into bankruptcy, drove Merrill Lynch & Co. to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. and brought about the Federal Reserve- financed purchase of Bear Stearns Cos. by JPMorgan Chase & Co.