The latest issue from the The Institutional Risk Analyst highlights investors growing desire to sell out of OneWest Bank, the successor to IndyMac Bank, which crumbled under the weight of the subprime mortgage meltdown in July 11, 2008.
But the IRA report, which concedes that heavy-hitter investors like John Paulson, George Soros and Chris Flowers may be ready to sell their interests in OneWest Bank, also takes the time to highlight the success of the FDIC’s restructuring of IndyMac in the midst of the financial crisis.
Still, with bank earnings and revenue uncertain, investors may be considering a sale of their interests in OneWest Bank today, IRA notes.
However, IRA still sees the emergence of OneWest Bank as a fundamental success story.
“IndyMac was closed on July 11, 2008 by the Office of Thrift Supervision. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named conservator in the largest resolution of a complex financial institutions to date. This was one of the few actual resolutions of large insolvent banks,” IRA wrote.
The analysts see this move as one that became relatively successful.
“Since there was no ready buyer when the seizure occurred, the FDIC then operated the crippled institution until March 2009 when it held an action. All of the deposits of IndyMac were transferred to the sole bidder, OneWest Bank, FSB, Pasadena, Calif., along with a large pile of marked-down assets,” IRA wrote.
“Since 2009, OneWest Bank has performed well above the rates of return of its peers and now has 74 retail branches in California. The bank was rated ‘A+’ by IRA in Q3 2012 and was considered well-capitalized,” the analyst report concluded.
