There's been a lot of talk about how old Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch were, venerable institutions which have either gone away or been swallowed up.
Well, Washington Mutual was founded in 1889. Not too many WaMu employees were in a talkative mood outside the firm's Seattle headquarters today (can you blame them?). But a few did speak.
A business management analyst who's already found a new job said: "Seeing what's happened to Bear Stearns and Lehman and even AIG, you know, you can't help but be concerned." She described the mood inside as "sad, but people are trying to do the best job they can...they're giving the new CEO a chance."