FRAUD ALLEGED AT FALLEN MORTGAGE TITAN: Senate investigators say they have found widespread fraud in the mortgage lending operations of Washington Mutual, the biggest U.S. bank on record to fail.

FAILURE TO ACT: WaMu’s management failed to stem the fraudulent practices despite internal probes by the bank, according to the new report by the investigative panel of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

WHAT’S NEXT?: The panel is holding hearings this week on the WaMu failure. It will decide afterward whether to make a formal referral to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution, its chairman says.

source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/36441371