Patent Law

CountryWide and IndyMac

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

In the spirit of 1960's bumper stickers --Don't worry, they're still 90 miles away--, the Times article notes:

But time may be running out for some small and midsize lenders. They vary in size and location, but their common woe is the collapsed real estate market and souring mortgage loans. Most of these banks are far smaller than the industry giants that have drawn so much scrutiny from regulators and investors.

(...)

The F.D.I.C. has $53 billion set aside to reimburse consumers for deposits lost at failed banks. IndyMac will eat up $4 billion to $8 billion of that fund, the agency estimates, and that could force it to raise more money from the banks that it insures.

The agency does not disclose which banks it thinks are troubled. But analysts are circulating their own lists, and short sellers ? investors who bet against stocks ? are piling on. In recent weeks, the share prices of some regional banks, like the BankUnited Financial Corporation, in Florida, and the Downey Financial Corporation, in California, have stumbled hard amid concern about their financial health. A BankUnited spokeswoman said the lender had largely avoided risky subprime loans.

In his ?Who Is Next?? report over the weekend, Mr. Bove listed the fraction of loans at banks that are nonperforming, meaning, for example, that the assets have been foreclosed on or that payments are 90 days past due. He came up with what he called a danger zone, which was a percentage above 5 percent. Seven banks fell in this category.

BUT NOTE: And yet IndyMac, one of the nation?s largest mortgage lenders, was not on the government?s troubled bank list this spring ? an indication that other troubled banks may be below the radar.

See also

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/07/nbc-nightly-news-on-countrywide.html

Full post as published by IPBiz on July 14, 2008 (boomark / email).