Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) dumped its CEO. Oddly enough, it comes a day after Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) pushed their chief executives out. A number of big banks, brokerages, and insurance firms have axed their top people over the last few months.
According to The Wall Street Journal, "Kerry Killinger the company's long-time leader will be replaced by Alan Fishman, currently chairman of New York commercial mortgage broker Meridian Capital Group."
The move won't matter. It has not at any of the other financial companies which have changed horses. It has not stopped their stocks from falling. It has not helped their earnings. It has not kept them from having to raise money.
The core trouble with the financial services operations is that they all made the same mistake at the same time. If one CEO goes, they should all go. The problems hurting the companies are systemic. New management. Old management. What difference does it make? Housing prices fell. Mortgage-backed securities tied to the market soured.
The replacements do reflect a level of naivety on the parts of boards at all of these companies. Kicking out one or two people and replacing them with others does little or nothing. Firms like WaMu need to cut costs down to the bone, raise money, and hope to ride out the storm. No one new is going to make that any different.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
