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Florida's Pension, Hurricane Funds Have Millions In WaMu Holdings

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 27, 2008

State officials on Friday were assessing what effect Washington Mutual's failure Thursday would have on stocks, bonds and other investments the state had in the bank.

The State Board of Administration, which manages the state worker pension fund, hurricane catastrophe fund and other key accounts, provided this breakdown of state holdings in WaMu as of Sept. 23:

•Total WaMu holdings in administration board accounts: $83.9 million, most of which was bonds and related securities; $9.1 million was in stock.

•The administration board's total unrealized or "paper losses" from WaMu holdings: $195 million

•Pension fund (Florida Retirement System): $42.18 million in WaMu holdings; $8.8 million was in stock

•Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund: $41.28 million, all bonds and related securities, no stock

•Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund (supports health-related spending): $41.28 million, all bonds and related securities, no stock

•Local Government Investment Pool (managed by the board for local governments): $0

In addition, the state treasury - Florida's checking and savings account - had $31.78 million in WaMu holdings made up of bonds and corporate debt.

Late on Sept. 25, however, the treasury sold off about $5 million of those holdings, said Tara Klimek, spokeswoman for Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.

Also, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida's public-private insurer of last resort, had WaMu holdings of $5.75 million in bonds and related securities.

Citizens is a "senior debt holder" for WaMu, Citizens spokesman John Kuczwanski said, meaning that the insurer is among the first in line for repayment.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

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