WaMu scapegoat gets a second chance

Symphony Technology Group this morning announced that it has hired Marshall Haines as a managing director. It's good to see.

Haines most recently was chief operating officer with Williston Financial Group, but before that spent five years as a principal with TPG Capital -- where he arguably became the scapegoat for the worst private equity deal in history (leading a $7 billion investment in Washington Mutual, less than five months before the lender went under).

Never made too much sense, given that TPG co-founder David Bonderman was a former WaMu board member who rejoined as an observer as part of the doomed investment. Not saying that Haines didn't work on the deal, but he hardly was in a position to be the prime influencer...