Predicting an east vs. west battle shaping up, Grumpy Editor on July 14 asked: Did comments from Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) contribute to the collapse of a major California-based financial institution with about $32 billion in assets? Grumpy Editor also said to look for discussions in coming days on the role of Schumer in the July 11 closing of the New York Stock Exchange-listed thrift that left many angry investors and depositors. Now, a decision by California attorney general Jerry Brown could be made as early as next week on whether to act on a request from 51 former employees of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. to investigate whether Schumer triggered the financial institution’s collapse by releasing confidential information. In addition, Schumer may be in the spotlight next month when Congress returns and the banking committee is expected to hold a hearing on IndyMac’s failure. The Pasadena-based financial institution, now under federal supervision, operates as IndyMac Federal Bank. The original IndyMac, which already was on shaky ground with heavy losses stemming from loan defaults, got smacked following June 26 letters that Schumer sent to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Schumer wrote that he was "concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers and that the regulatory community may not be prepared to ta ...
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