Washington Mutual shareholders approved a $7 billion infusion from TPG and other investors yesterday, thereby blessing — they had little choice — the return of Texas deal maker David Bonderman to the company’s board of directors. The decision came on a day when WaMu stock hit a 16-year low.

Difficult times for a company mean difficult times for its board of directors.

And these certainly are difficult times for Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan.

Because of losses related to subprime mortgage lending, the Seattle-based firm has closed operations, cut jobs, slashed its dividend, and watched the price of its stock plummet to its lowest level in more than 11 years, closing Friday at $13.07.