Founded in Seattle in 1889, the bank grew to become the nation's largest savings and loan company. The staggering failure of Washington Mutual to withstand the 2007-08 U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown gives it the dubious dual honor of being the second-largest bankruptcy and second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. The government took WaMu under control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation after a run on the bank led to $16.7 billion in withdrawals over a 10-day period.