Thread: IndyMac Seized by U.S. Regulators;Schumer Blamed for Failure

By Ari Levy and David Mildenberg

July 12 (Bloomberg) -- IndyMac Bancorp Inc. became the second- biggest federally insured financial company to be seized by U.S. regulators after a run by depositors left the California mortgage lender short on cash.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will run a successor institution, IndyMac Federal Bank FSB, starting next week, the Office of Thrift Supervision said in an e-mail yesterday. The regulator blamed U.S. Senator Charles Schumer for creating a ``liquidity crisis'' after a letter on June 26, in which he expressed concern that the bank may fail.

The Pasadena, California-based lender specialized in so-called Alt-A mortgages, which didn't require borrowers to provide documentation on their incomes. The demise adds to the crisis caused by the subprime collapse and may mean regulators will have to raise more money to support the federal deposit insurance program that repays customers when a bank fails.

``IndyMac is the vanguard, the precursor of more stuff coming,'' said Christopher Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, a market research company in Torrance, California. ``It's not surprising to see IndyMac resolved. What you have to ask is what's coming next. It's going to be a wave of medium to bigger-than-medium institutions.''

IndyMac's home state, where Countrywide Financial Corp. was also located before it was bought last week, has been among the hardest hit by foreclosures. California ranked second among U.S. states, with one foreclosure filing for every 192 households in June, 2.6 times the national average.

IndyMac's Losses

The lender racked up almost $900 million in losses as home prices tumbled and foreclosures climbed to a record. IndyMac becomes the largest OTS-regulated savings and loan to fail, according to the FDIC.

Mortgages serviced by IndyMac will be turned over to the FDIC and the regulator will be reaching out to customers immediately, Chairman Sheila Bair said on a conference call yesterday. Customers will have access to funds this weekend via automated teller machines and electronically and by phone starting next week.

The FDIC intends to sell IndyMac within 90 days, preferably as a single entity, Bair said. If that doesn't work, the lender will be sold off in pieces, she said.

After peaking at $50.11 on May 8, 2006, IndyMac shares lost 87 percent of their value in 2007 and another 95 percent this year. The stock fell 3 cents to 28 cents yesterday.

Schumer's Comments

IndyMac came under fire last month from Schumer, the Democrat from New York, who said lax lending standards and deposits purchased from third parties left it on the brink of failure. During the 11 business days after Schumer explained his concerns in a June 26 letter, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion, the OTS said.

``This institution failed due to a liquidity crisis,'' OTS Director John Reich said in the statement. ``Although this institution was already in distress, I am troubled by any interference in the regulatory process.''

Schumer blamed IndyMac's own actions and regulatory failures for the bank's seizure.

``If OTS had done its job as regulator and not let IndyMac's poor and loose lending practices continue, we wouldn't be where we are today,'' Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in an e-mail yesterday. ``Instead of pointing false fingers of blame, OTS should start doing its job to prevent future IndyMacs.''

The failure will cost the federal deposit insurance program about $4 billion to $8 billion, the FDIC said. Some $1 billion of uninsured deposits are held by about 10,000 customers, the FDIC said. Those depositors will get an ``advance dividend'' equal to half the uninsured amount, according to the statement.

Firing Workers

The FDIC insures $100,000 per depositor per insured bank, according to the agency's Web site. Customers may qualify for more coverage depending on the type of accounts they own, and some retirement accounts have a $250,000 limit.

IndyMac announced on July 7 that it was firing half its employees. The lender agreed to sell most of its retail mortgage branches to Prospect Mortgage, giving the Northbrook, Illinois based-company more than 60 branch offices with 750 employees. IndyMac also has a retail bank network with 33 branches and $18 billion in deposits, mostly insured by the FDIC.

The company was started in 1985 by Countrywide founders Angelo Mozilo and David Loeb under the name Countrywide Mortgage Investments. In 1999, it converted into a bank from a real estate investment trust. That year, Michael Perry replaced Mozilo as chief executive officer.

Under Perry's leadership, profit more than doubled from $118 million in 2000 to $343 million in 2006 amid the housing boom. The stock more than tripled over that stretch.

Perry will not be continuing with the new FDIC-controlled institution, while other executives will be retained, Bair said. The FDIC's John Bovenzi will assume the CEO role.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Levy in San Francisco at alevy5@bloomberg.net; David Mildenberg in Charlotte at dmildenberg@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 12, 2008 00:23 EDT
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The Pasadena, California-based lender specialized in so-called Alt-A mortgages, which didn't require borrowers to provide documentation on their incomes.

Now I've heard it all.

And you can bet a huge chunk of them were illegals. All the taxpayers get done is paying for the behavior of illegals, and sending billions to California because of their IA hugging, and it's getting d--- tiresome.