IndyMac Lines Up a Buyer

IndyMac Federal Bank may soon be back in private hands. HoldCo LLC, which includes J.C. Flowers and other private investors, filed a bank holding company application with the Office of Thrift Supervision, and a deal is reportedly imminent. The $14-billion offer may include an agreement under which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would guarantee some of IndyMac’s potential loan losses. It’s unclear whether or in what form the relatively benevolent foreclosure policy orchestrated by the FDIC would survive the transaction. The agency was vague about the details. “The FDIC has not made any announcement on the sale of IndyMac outside of that we expect to have announcement by the end of the year,” said spokesman David Barr, adding: “Any money obtained from selling a failed bank flows back through the receivership reimburse creditors. The [FDIC] insurance fund is also a creditor of failed banks.”