Washington Mutual 1889 Pins and Buttons
Description: The Great Seattle Fire destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington on June 6, 1889. Rising from the ashes like a phoenix on September 25, 1889, Washington Mutual was a sign of strength and resolve in a time of destruction and uncertainty. In 2007, a combination of subprime loans bundled as securities and sold on Wall Street to hungry investors, opaque financial derivatives that posed a systemic threat, an unsustainable housing boom, banking executives pulling fat bonuses to take on ever-more risk created the perfect recipe for disaster. By 2008, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department were pressuring WaMu to find a buyer to avoid an FDIC takeover, but WaMu pushed on, ultimately failing in September of 2008.
