Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
It was back in July 2008 when IndyMac Bank, a $32 billion asset Pasadena, CA-based institution, was closed by its
federal regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and then reopened the following Monday as the IndyMac
Federal Savings Bank. The transition was all over the national news, including memorable scenes of customers
making a run on the bank to claim their deposits.
Following the closure, the bank was then run by the FDIC acting as its overseer for the next five months while it
made tectonic shifts in its loan portfolio and business model, then sold to private investors.
Sean Wright, Vice President of Enterprise Information Security for IndyMac, worked through the bank's takeover by
the FDIC and shares the story of the bank's failure, work through and rebirth as a new institution.
Wright joined IndyMac in June 2007 and says now that the past year was a huge challenge, but also a great learning
experience. "The fact that we were able to make it out through to the other side and are still alive to tell about it is a
good thing," Wright says.
Dune acts as a consortium and is made up of a group of investors, including J.C. Flowers and other private investors.
Branding to the new OneWest Bank name hasn't taken place yet. "All of this was finalized at the end of March,"
Wright says.
Throughout the transition, given the public news about IndyMac, it was challenging to keep existing staff motivated
and on target. "We have a real challenge to reenergize our employees, and it starts with our new ownership. Our new
owners bring a wealth of banking knowledge, expertise and a proven track record of success that we can all look
forward to in the future as OneWest Bank matures, finds its course and emerges as a leader in the space," he says.
Under the oversight of the FDIC, all employees were motivated through individual retention plans based on goals
and performance, which was a good way to get the employees to stick through the "tough times". Now Wright's
team and the other areas of the bank are working on developing individual employee growth, career management
and compensation plans that are in line with the workers responsibilities.
Confidence Increased
Other than the consolidation and reorganization not much has really changed for the staff, notes Wright. He sees the
biggest changes have come in the amount confidence of all the employees now have successfully working through
the unchartered waters of a true FDIC takeover. "There is a tremendous sense of self-satisfaction knowing that we
are the only group of employees in the financial banking space that have truly worked through a bank closure,
including quickly shifting direction in order to meet the demands of the FDIC, taking on all the M&A activities and
successfully seeing our company return to the private sector under new ownership. Honestly, I don't think there are
any individuals on the planet other than our team here that have gone full circle with the FDIC that can now take
that experience and apply it to any financial institution."
Now many other banks are adopting the standard that IndyMac created, and Wright believes that's really the reason
why the FDIC took over the institution the way it did. "We were very unique, where we didn't just get taken over, or
absorbed, or liquidated; they actually held on and created this environment where we could then become more of a
servicing company, rather than an origination company."
Thus far the new bank is servicing $200 billion in loans, and Wright sees this number will only grow. The bank's
model now is to: Acquire new banks, grow out the banking business, and grow out the loan servicing business.
As part of the bank's loan servicing business, it is looking to the FDIC when it goes through bank closures, to offer
the chance to bid on the loan portfolios that are considered good assets. "We already have this loan modification
program in place and we can reach out to those individuals who are experiencing problems and help them keep their
homes," he explains.
Without a tool like this it would be "very difficult for us to get a very quick snapshot of what we have out there. Not
just from an asset perspective, but also just from a like a topology environment perspective," Wright says.
For Wright's department, the transition to the brick and mortar bank and the move away from a mortgage bank has
made the job a bit easier, mainly because the new owners are more risk averse. "The new owners are well-proven,
seasoned veterans in banking and financial services. "As a part of that, risk is not something they like to assume if
they don't have to. It's like risk is a four-letter word to them."
One of the key focus areas is going to be acquisition, so Wright's group will focus more on how integration works.
"Using our existing tools to help us with that integration, understanding what the other bank has, will help us know
their landscape very quickly and get them integrated faster into our environment."