WAMU FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION

According to Bloomberg: Washington Mutual Inc., a holding company for the savings and loan that became the biggest U.S. bank to fail, filed for bankruptcy protection along with its unit WMI Investment Corp.

WaMu, the 119-year-old Seattle-based thrift, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, according to a release from Business Wire. The Delaware bankruptcy Web site was closed for site maintenance. Ian Campbell, a spokesman for the bankrupt holding company with Abernathy MacGregor Group, said he couldn't provide further details.