Town Hall Meeting

On the west coast Friday afternoon, when most people just want to get home from work and relax, something major happened – a major US bank failed. This means that anyone with more than $100,000 in their account will not see their money since it is not covered by the FDIC. Thanks G for the links below:

“The takeover of IndyMac came amid rampant speculation that the federal government would also have to take over lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together stand behind almost half of the nation’s mortgage debt.”:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/12/indymac-seized-by-regulators-marking-second-largest-bank-failure-in-us-history/

….
“The federal government took control of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank on Friday in what regulators called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Citing a massive run on deposits, regulators shut its main branch three hours early, leaving customers stunned and upset.”:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-indymac12-2008jul12,1,7375643.story

….
“No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.”:
http://indymac.com/
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/IndyMac.html

I think it’s also informative to see who is on IndyMac’s board which the LA Times article did a good job of at least mentioning.

“IndyMac’s board boasts a number of California luminaries. Among the directors, according to a proxy statement the company filed in March, is Pat Haden, 55, a former star quarterback for USC and the Los Angeles Rams, who has been a partner of Riordan, Lewis & Haden, the investment firm founded by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, since 1987.

Other directors include Lyle E. Gramley, 81, a former governor of the Federal Reserve; Bruce G. Willison, 59, former dean of the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA; and Lydia H. Kennard, 53, former executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Los Angeles International.”

And I’ll bet a dollar to a dime that all of them will never have any problems finding another swanky board job even with this disaster under their watch