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There have been two shifts in the leadership of major banks marking further casualties in the on-going housing - mortgage - credit - foreclosure crisis. There were two other developments in the fortunes of an investment bank and a home builder that show that the situation is far from stable.

At least there will be some people who will not suffer unduly from the subprime mortgage mess - even if they played a role in creating it.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Washington Mutual (WaMu) has approved compensation targets for its top executives that will exclude some of the costs tied to mortgage losses and foreclosures when cash bonuses are calculated later this year.

The decision will protect the compensation...

Late Monday, after the market closed of course, Washington Mutual announced that, in an attempt to raise cash, it will conduct a $2.5 billion convertible preferred stock offering. It will also close 190 of its 336 loan centers and sales offices, lay off more than 3,000 employees and set aside up to $1.6 billion for loan losses in the fourth quarter.

The company also announced that it was...

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo�s recently announced investigation of eAppraiselT, a division of First American reverberated throughout financial markets on Wednesday, contributing to a 361 point loss on Wall Street.

The huge sell-off was helped along by a gloomy forecast by Washington Mutual (WaMu), one of the principal actors in the Cuomo investigation. In a conference with its investors WaMu revealed that its short term fortunes were even worse than it had earlier predicted.

Meanwhile, the Cuomo investigation continued. Yesterday Cuomo announced...

According to Reuters News Agency, this announcement places Merrill Lynch at the top of the growing pile of investment and mortgage companies which have taken hits due to what is now commonly referred to as the subprime mortgage mess.

Merrill Lynch may be the biggest loser to date but it is hardly alone. Also on Friday Washington Mutual announced...