Suburban WaMu customers not panicked by purchase

Paul Maatta of Des Plaines said Friday that he's not too upset over the fact that his bank, Washington Mutual Inc., had just been bought by JP Morgan Chase & Co.

"They said our money was safe, and it's not going to affect me that much," he said. "There's a Chase branch right down the street. I just feel bad for the bank."

Addison resident Brittany Swiderski said she was surprised by the news, but isn't worried.

"I thought they were doing well," she said outside a Glen Ellyn branch.

Seattle-based WaMu, which has struggled for years with crippling mortgage-related losses, is the latest casualty in the ongoing financial crisis gripping the country. JP Morgan Chase bought WaMu's banking assets on Thursday for $1.9 billion.

The transaction will likely result in the closure of Illinois branches, but exactly where and how many is unclear. WaMu moved into the Illinois market in 2003 and expanded aggressively. It has 115 branches statewide. Chase, meanwhile, has about 364 branches in the Chicago market, including northwest Indiana.

JP Morgan Chase officials said they plan to close less than 10 percent of the combined network of branches. The company hopes to finish the integration and rebranding process in 2010.

In the meantime, WaMu customers can continue to bank as they always have. They can use the same checks, the same ATM cards and the same credit cards, JP Morgan officials said.

Glen Ellyn resident Jim Jarvis said the change doesn't worry him in the slightest.

"Don't care at all ... so I'm a JP Morgan customer now."

Staff writers Sheila Ahern and Hafsa Mahmood contributed to this article.