WaMu was incorporated as the '' ' Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association ' '' on September 25 , 1889 , after the Great Seattle Fire destroyed 120 acres ( 49 ha ) of the central business district of Seattle . The newly formed company made its first home mortgage loan on the West Coast on February 10 , 1890 . It changed its name to '' ' Washington Savings and Loan Association ' '' on June 25 , 1908 . By September 12 , 1917 , it was operating under the name '' ' WaMu Savings Bank ' '' . The company purchased its first company , the financially distressed Continental Mutual Savings Bank , on July 25 , 1930 . Its marketing slogan for much of its history was “ The Friend of the Family ”
Great Seattle Fire
Great Seattle Fire
Washington Mutual