IndyMac Files Chapter 7

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As expected, IndyMac Bancorp Inc. has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and will liquidate all of its remaining assets.


The Thursday filing in Los Angeles bankruptcy court does not include IndyMac Federal Bank, the successor to the company’s banking unit, which is now run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.


The Pasadena-based bank, which was at one time one of the largest independent lenders in the nation, was seized by U.S. regulators on July 11 after customers rushed to pull out their deposits. Regulators intend to sell the seized bank.


Depositors rushed to withdraw their cash after U.S. Senator Charles Schumer singled-out IndyMac Bancorp as an example of lax lending standards that had infected banks across the country. Schumer added that the bank was on the brink of collapse.


IndyMac Federal Bank, which is now under the control of the FDIC and separate from IndyMac Bancorp, has liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million it owes to fewer than 50 creditors, according to the Chapter 7 filing. The company listed about $50 million to $100 million in assets.


This announcement comes after IndyMac Federal Bank said it laid off about 110 employees from its failed thrift’s corporate headquarters in Pasadena, bringing the company’s workforce to roughly 3,700.


Chief Executive Michael W. Perry, who is now the lone employee of IndyMac Bancorp, said in court papers that the FDIC “has been in sole possession, custody and control of all of the books and records” of the company.


IndyMac Bancorp became a poster child for the subprime and housing fiascos, racking up nearly $900 million in losses over the past year. Due to its heavy investment into the California housing market the bank was hit particularly hard as foreclosures skyrocketed in the state.

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