Southern California depositors could lose $500 million in IndyMac bank failure

By John Burton and Kim Saito 16 July 2008 Last Friday afternoon, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regulators abruptly shut the doors of Pasadena, California-based IndyMac Bank several hours before its normal closing time and seized $38 billion in assets, making IndyMac Bank the third-largest bank failure in American history, and the sixth this year. When the 33 branches reopened Monday morning as IndyMac Federal Bank, they were greeted by thousands of retirees, workers and professional people, many having already stood in line for hours. The crowds waited in sweltering heat to withdraw whatever funds they could in scenes recalling the financial panic that gripped the country during the Great Depression. Police were called to the Encino branch in the San Fernando Valley Tuesday to control a line of people, many of... [read full story]