Finance and Economic

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by assets, will cut 9,200 Washington Mutual Inc. jobs nationwide as it acquires the Seattle-based lender, a spokesman said.

The bank will eliminate 4,000 jobs and put 5,200 employees on a transition team. Those employees will help integrate the banks, and some will remain in the positions until the end of next year, JPMorgan spokesman Thomas Kelly said in an e-mail.

JPMorgan paid $1.9 billion in September for most of Washington Mutual, including the branches and deposits, after the thrift was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

New York-based JPMorgan expects to keep most of the WaMu branch employees and will shutter less than 10 percent of the combined company’s retail outlets free credit reports.

WaMu’s former Seattle headquarters will account for 3,400 of the job cuts, the Seattle Times reported. The bank is also cutting 1,600 jobs in California, mostly in back-office operations.

Washington Mutual had more than 43,000 employees at the end of June.

JPMorgan dropped $5.54, or 18 percent, to $26.12 in New York trading. The shares have fallen 40 percent this year.

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