IndyMac depositers seek cash, comfort at branches
PASADENA, Calif., July 8 (Reuters) - When Acela Ducharme heard on television that IndyMac Bancorp Inc IMB.N was unable to raise new capital and would stop offering most home loans, she was determined not to become the latest victim of the U.S. mortgage crisis.
She headed straight to the IndyMac branch at its Los Angeles-area headquarters, where she withdrew what she said was a small amount from a certificate of deposit.
"I have to see if the problem will stabilize," Ducharme said, outside the branch in Pasadena. "I want more security."
IndyMac, a mortgage specialist with about $18 billion of deposits, said on Tuesday it faced "elevated" levels of withdrawals.
Though bank runs are rare, Bear Stearns collapsed this year amid a liquidity crisis as declining confidence prompted a run on what had been the fifth-largest U.S. investment bank.
Ducharme and other IndyMac customers said they feared it could follow in the footsteps of failed rivals New Century Financial Corp and American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. In Pasadena and at another L.A.-area branch in Torrance, customers were cashing out or just stopping by to seek reassurance that their money was safe.
The mood at both branches was civilized, if anxious.
David, a 45-year-old auto mechanic, said he took $78,000 out of two CDs at the Torrance branch. And that was only after his brother and nephew got into a car accident while they were rushing to close out their $300,000 worth of accounts at the branch.
"It's scary, I don't want to lose my money," said David, who declined to give his last name. "I don't want to wait to get my money back."
'TOUGH TIMES EVERYWHERE'
Though worried, others decided to keep their money at the largest independent publicly traded U.S. mortgage lender.
"I'm on the fence, but I feel what I got is protected," said Cal Elshoff of La Canada, California, at the Pasadena headquarters. "There's tough times everywhere in the banking world."
Several people were reassured about the safety of their money as IndyMac employees said their funds were protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
"I'm staying mainly because my funds are insured by the FDIC," said Justine Hollwis, 70, a retiree who visited the Torrance branch on Tuesday afternoon.
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, late last month raised questions for regulators about a potential IndyMac collapse, but attempted to assuage fears about the overall banking industry on Tuesday.
"Neither depositors nor investors should read IndyMac's unique troubles as an omen for other institutions," Schumer said in a statement.
Priscilla, a retiree who visited the Torrance branch and would not give her last name, said she indeed felt more comfortable moving money from her IndyMac money market account to an account at Wells Fargo (WFC.N).
"I don't want any problems," she said. "There are larger banks out there that won't close." (Editing by Braden Reddall)
