History

A City Rebuilds
A long dry spell and a burning glue pot touched off the fire that blackened the business district of Seattle on June 6, 1889, engulfing 25 city blocks and destroying nearly everything in its 120-acre path.

The Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association filed articles of incorporation on September 25, 1889, to offer its stockholders a safe and profitable vehicle for investing and lending. This allowed the Association to help Seattle residents rebuild after the fire.

The company made the first monthly-installment home loan on the Pacific Coast on February 10, 1890. The borrower, a Norwegian-born seaman, used the $700 loan to build a house in Ballard, a neighborhood in Seattle. This creative amortized home loan proved so popular that the Association made more than 2,000 similar loans to help build 250 blocks of housing in Seattle.

Turn of the Century
On June 25, 1908, the company changed its name to Washington Savings and Loan Association.

Eugene Favre, co-founder of Murphey Favre, Inc., of Spokane, became a member of the board in 1911, marking the start of a relationship between the investment firm and Washington Mutual.

Winning the War Years
Washington Mutual expanded its assets during World War I by 68 percent, thus escaping the impact of the recession that followed.

The company emerged from the war years with a reputation as the strongest savings institution in Washington.

The Midnight Merger
Facing financial distress in the early days of The Great Depression, officials of Continental Mutual Savings Bank asked Washington Mutual to purchase their bank. On July 25, 1930, Continental became Washington Mutual's first acquisition.

Early Innovator
In 1962, Washington Mutual installed its first computer, an IBM 1401 the size of a refrigerator with 4k of memory—a third of the memory of a wristwatch computer in 1990. "The bank is the first savings bank west of Minneapolis to install this advanced computer system," wrote The Seattle Times in its February 28 edition.

In 1974, Washington Mutual pioneered the first shared cash machine network in the nation, The Exchange.

Washington Mutual and a consortium of savings banks helped finance the first Pay-by-Phone telephone banking program during the 1970s.

The 1970s were a time of turmoil in American urban centers. Recognizing the decay of inner-city housing, the company introduced the Step Rate Loan, which allowed low-income borrowers to meet underwriting requirements. This loan initiated Washington Mutual's long-term commitment to community and neighborhood reinvestment.

Going Public
In 1983, at a time when many thrifts folded, Washington Mutual acquired Murphey Favre, a full-service securities brokerage firm. This acquisition was the first of its kind in the nation. The bank converted from a mutual form of ownership to a capital stock savings bank on March 11, 1983. The bank's common stock debuted on this date and sold out, raising $72 million—26 percent more than expected.

The bank held its first annual shareholders' meeting on March 8, 1984.

With the stock sold and the bank publicly owned, Washington Mutual reengineered, diversified and continued expanding. The bank's assets more than doubled within six years of going public.

Rapid Growth Years
Kerry Killinger was elected chairman of the board of directors of Washington Mutual, Inc. on January 1, 1991, after having served as chief executive officer since April 1990 and director since December 1988. He was executive vice president of Murphey Favre, Inc. when Washington Mutual, Inc. acquired the securities brokerage firm in 1982, and was promoted to Senior Executive Vice President of Washington Mutual in 1986.

Washington Mutual, Inc. is now established as one of the nation's leading financial services companies and continues to serve consumers and small to mid-sized businesses through the various subsidiaries in the Washington Mutual family of companies. Our business strategy-to provide a higher level of personalized customer service than our competitors-has helped to make us one of the fastest-growing financial services companies in the country.

A Commitment to the Future
As part of its corporate values, Washington Mutual has long supported the communities in which it conducts business. That is why we recently announced, beginning in 2002, a 10-year, $375 billion industry leading Community Commitment targeting home loans, affordable apartments and manufactured home sites, consumer and small business loans, and community investments and development.