Banks throughout the United States carried on with the business of making loans yesterday even as federal officials warned again that their industry is on the verge of collapse, suggesting that the overheated language on Capitol Hill may not reflect the reality on many Main Streets.

The industry is resilient despite the struggles of some members. Washington Mutual, a troubled Seattle savings and loan that was among the nation's largest mortgage lenders, yesterday was seized by the government and sold to J.P. Morgan Chase.

At the same time, many smaller banks said they were actually benefiting from the problems on Wall Street. Deposits are flowing in as customers flee riskier investments, and well-qualified borrowers are lining up for loans.

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Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Economy

1. Sarah1 wrote: Yep. Banks that took good loans will do just fine.  Particularly the small regional banks who didn’t have the money to waste on the bad stuff.  In fact, they’ll gain customers fleeing the WAMUs of this world. September 26, 7:15 pm | [comment link]

2. DonGander wrote: My bank assured me that all was quite well with them. I’ll find out on Monday as I plan to apply for a consolidation loan. Don September 26, 8:40 pm | [comment link]

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