WaMu files bankruptcy petition in Delaware

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc has filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors in U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware.

In the voluntary petition filed late Friday, the company listed assets of $32.9 billion, and debts of $8.2 billion, putting it in the top 10 largest U.S. bankruptcy cases ever filed.

Bank of New York Mellon, as a trustee for debtholders, was listed as the company's largest creditor.

According to the petition, Washington Mutual is being represented by New York law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, which also represents Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc in its Chapter 11 case.

Its subsidiary, WMI Investment Corp, also filed for bankruptcy protection, Washington Mutual said in a statement.

The bankruptcy filing is a procedural step, as Washington Mutual was closed by the U.S. government this week in the largest U.S. bank failure in history. Its banking assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co for $1.9 billion.

(Reporting by Emily Chasan, Editing by Sandra Maler)