Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington Mutual Savings Bank is now in the Wall Street spotlight.

On Monday, Standard and Poors downgraded the credit rating of the Seattle-based thrift to junk bond territory. And there are rumors J.P. Morgan Chase may buy WaMu.

How does that trickle down to customers? Correspondent Doug Nadvornick tells us one man’s story in North Idaho.

Washington Mutual customer Dave Canning went to his local branch in Post Falls with a few questions about the bank’s future. He left shaking his head.

Canning says he’s been closely watching the news about the thrift. He says he and his wife were WaMu customers in southern California and stayed with the bank when they moved to Idaho.

Not any more, after a phone call to his wife.

Dave Canning: “So I called her, and she was out of town, and I said, ‘You gotta get, you know, the money out of the bank. So. You know, we’re not trying to freak them out either. But at least I have it.”

There may be other customers like Dave Canning, but business at the Post Falls branch seemed normal for a weekday morning.

In Seattle, Washington Mutual officials weren’t doing interviews. But they released a statement that tries to assure their customers that their money is safe, federally insured up to $100,000 per customer.

WaMu says the bank has plenty of cash available to cover defaulted loans.