WaMu Statement from David Schneider, President, Home Loans, Regarding Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgages

WaMu (NYSE:WM) is committed to offering a range of products to our customers to meet their individual needs. The Option ARM is an attractive product for many of our customers. We have a great deal of experience in underwriting and originating Option ARM loans through many market cycles. We’ve offered this product for more than 20 years. We know the best mortgage customer is a well-informed borrower. That’s why we focus on providing clear, understandable disclosures for our customers and ongoing training for our sales force. We’re still analyzing the Guidance so we don’t want to speculate on what, if any, impact the new guidelines may have on our business practices. However, we believe that all mortgage originators should be held to the same standards. As a result, we encourage the state regulatory authorities to follow suit and issue the same guidelines so that consumers receive consistent disclosures and lenders have an even playing field.