Los Angeles - Washington Mutual Consumer Group today announced the promotion of Lenny McNeill to senior vice president of Retail Lending in the Southwest United States region and Hawaii. Previously, McNeill served as regional vice president.

"Lenny has contributed significantly to our rapid growth and has shown tremendous leadership, creativity and commitment to the enterprise," said Greg Sayegh, senior vice president and national retail manager at Washington Mutual. "He will continue to play a pivotal role in maintaining and building our position as one of the leading national mortgage lenders."

In this new role, McNeill will be responsible for directing and managing more than 50 retail home loan centers, with a combined employee base of about 700 employees, loan consultants and account executives in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and Hawaii.

McNeill has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry. In 1994, he joined Washington Mutual through the acquisition of American Savings Bank, and was promoted to Regional Sales Manager in Southern California in 1998.

Based in Los Angeles, McNeill holds a degree from the University of California. He currently sits on the board of The Inglewood Housing Services and CHARO Community Development Corporation.

With a history dating back to 1889, Washington Mutual is a retailer of financial services that provides a diversified line of products and services to consumers and commercial clients. At Sept. 20, 2003, Washington Mutual and its subsidiaries had assets of $286.63 billion. Washington Mutual currently operates more than 2,700 consumer banking, mortgage lending, commercial banking, consumer finance and financial services offices throughout the nation. Washington Mutual's press releases are available at www.wamu.com.

Washington Mutual, Inc.

Washington Mutual, Inc.

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