The WSJ just reported that the feds have brokered a deal for J.P. Morgan to buy deposits and branches of Washington Mutual. The deal is said to include the bulk of WaMu's operations.

Federal regulators have been heavily involved in orchestrating the transaction, which comes as WaMu was besieged by a mountain of bad mortgage loans. WaMu, of Seattle, has been scrambling to find a solution and put itself on the auction block last week. A number of interested parties have been studying WaMu's books, but the bank didn't receive any offers.