IndyMac in deep trouble indeed, at $.62/share

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Shares of Pasadena-based IndyMac slipped by 19 cents today, which would be no big deal for most stocks. But IndyMac is a penny stock these days, so a loss of less than two dimes a share wiped out roughly a quarter of its value. It closed at 62 cents a share.

Over at Money & Co., Tom Petruno details the near-run on the bank Friday and Saturday, as investors lined up to pull their money out of the bank, which has been battered to the brink of survival by bad loans. As Petruno explains, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) didn’t do IndyMac any favors when he wrote to federal regulators saying he was ‘concerned that IndyMac’s financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers.’

Over at LA Biz Observed, Mark Lacter notes that IndyMac is about to become America’s largest independent mortgage company, -- if it survives the next few days. ‘A new report by the Center for Responsible Lending finds that IndyMac engaged in the now-familiar pattern of loosey-goosey lending practices that fueled the mortgage boom. The nonprofit organization says it interviewed former employees who spoke of the pressure to cut deals with little regard for their customers’ ability to repay the loans.’

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