Business

WAMU HIRES GOLDMAN AS IT EYES FUTURE

Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan, has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs as it frantically looks for a buyer or a capital infusion in the next several days, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

The federal government is pushing JPMorgan Chase and other banks to buy WaMu, but potential buyers want the company to spin out its toxic mortgage assets and they want the feds to backstop any purchase, sources said.

It’s unclear what federal regulators will do, but they must act fast in order to avoid a massive loss of customers who could soon begin pulling their cash out of WaMu.

Sources said WaMu, which had $148 billion in deposits last week, has not had a run on the bank, though some people have pulled out their money over the last few days even as WaMu offers higher interest rates to keep customers.

Hiring an adviser will help Seattle-based WaMu inch closer toward a sale of the troubled banking franchise, which has lost 94 percent of its value over the past year amid worries about its stockpile of toxic residential mortgage loans.

WaMu is also exploring other options, including selling another equity stake in the company or some branches to raise capital, sources said.

The thrift’s plan comes after Merrill Lynch analyst Kenneth Bruce issued a report yesterday saying that the company is coming under increasing pressure to “seek shelter from the storm through a merger.”

As The Post reported earlier, regulators have been talking to a number of healthier banks about their interest in buying WaMu.

However, none of the banks approached, including Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, has engaged in formal discussions with WaMu, sources said.

JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon has long coveted WaMu in order to expand its giant banking footprint on the West Coast.

Another sign that WaMu is serious about shopping itself is the fact that private-equity giant TPG, which led a group of investors that pumped $7 billion into WaMu in April, has waived a so-called ratchet provision on its preferred stock investment.

The waiver clears a hurdle for a potential buyer to step in without having to shell out more to buy WaMu.

TPG invested a total of about $1.5 billion in the company at an effective average price of $8 a share, according to an investor letter obtained by The Post.

The ratchet provision called for TPG and other investors to be made whole if WaMu is sold or forced to seek more capital.

WaMu shares fell 13 percent yesterday to $2.01.