OTS chief not aware of any WaMu deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. banking regulator said on Thursday he is not aware of any pending deals involving Washington Mutual Inc WM.N, the largest U.S. savings and loan.

"If you're asking me, 'Am I aware of any pending large deals?' No," Office of Thrift Supervision Director John Reich told the Reuters Regulation Summit.

"If you want to know if somebody is going to acquire WaMu, I would suggest you ask (WaMu Chief Executive) Kerry Killinger. I don't know," said Reich, whose agency regulates WaMu.

Analysts have said the Seattle-based institution might be a takeover target after mortgage defaults and write-downs that led to a $1.87 billion fourth-quarter loss and $67 million loss for 2007. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was mentioned as a possible suitor.

Reich said he expects fewer consolidation deals in the banking industry, at least through this year.

"I think we will see selected deals made," Reich said. "In terms of numbers, there will likely be fewer deals. I think there were fewer deals in 2007 than there were the previous year, and I think we're likely to see in general fewer deals over the next year or so."

WaMu shares were up about 4 percent at $17.87 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)

(Reporting by John Poirier; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Gerald E. McCormick)