Bank Holds #1 Online Position with a 43% Market Share with Online Checking Applicants, According to comScore Inc.

WaMu (NYSE:WM) today announced it continues as #1 in online checking accounts with consumers in its footprint market (among top 10 online banks) with consumers nationwide, according to third quarter analysis by comScore Inc. Researched showed that 43% of the online banking consumers selected a WaMu checking account in its footprint, while 31% of online consumers chose WaMu nationwide. "Our research shows that the new WaMu Free Checking® account continues to be met with a very favorable response from consumers,” said Serge Matta, senior vice president of comScore Financial Solutions. "WaMu seems to have hit a chord with online consumers with their checking and savings products.” Success of the checking account has been attributed to industry leading customer benefits and the industry’s fastest application process that can take less than 7 minutes and includes a paperless account opening process. According to the study, online banking growth for the industry remained relatively flat in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 4.4% growth in the second quarter, and 9.2% in the last twelve months. The competitive set of bank sites covered in the study consisted of major national and regional banks with online offerings. "We are excited about the growth of our market share and thank our customers for continuing to make us #1,” said Richard Blunck, SVP, WaMu’s Director of eCommerce. "Our goal is to make banking simple for customers, whether they are in our retail store or on our website.” WaMu is a leading provider of online financial services, and its site, www.wamu.com, has received widespread industry and consumer recognition, averaging more than 3,500 online applications submitted per day. The site is consistently ranked as one of Keynote’s top online banking sites. The online banking site also continues to be at the top of the Gomez ratings for site response time, more than 1 second faster than the second-quickest site, and more than twice as fast as the industry benchmark. About WaMu WaMu, through its subsidiaries, is one of the nation’s leading consumer and small business banks. At September 30, 2007, WaMu and its subsidiaries had assets of $330.1 billion. The company has a history dating back to 1889 and its subsidiary banks currently operate approximately 2,700 consumer and small business banking stores throughout the nation. WaMu’s press releases are available at http://newsroom.wamu.com. About comScore comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by more than 800 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.