FLASH: Toxic lender Washington Mutual sees "perfect storm" in housing, expects home prices to keep falling in most markets, billions in WM losses

The perfect storm. Surprising for bank CEOs and sheeple. Fully expected and predicted by HP'ers. Note - I'm short WM... They did call them "liar's loans" for a reason ya know...

NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc., the largest U.S. savings and loan, may set aside $500 million more than it had previously forecast for loan losses in 2007, amid what Chief Executive Kerry Killinger called a "near perfect storm" in U.S. housing.

The Seattle-based thrift had in July projected setting aside $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion for loan losses.

Speaking at a Lehman Brothers Inc. financial services conference, Killinger said the housing market is struggling with stagnant home prices, rising borrowing costs, tighter underwriting standards, and tough capital markets conditions.

"Most housing markets appear to be weakening, to us," he said. "We would not be surprised to see declines in housing prices in many regions of the country ... for the next few quarters."