InDY Yardstick Act – HR 5429 – YOUR MISSION NOW!
Greetings Fellow Depositors!
Last week we had a great meeting with Congresswoman Jane Harman in El Segundo. There were 10 fellow depositors who accompanied me from District 36. She took the time to explain the new depositor insurance legislation for consideration by the House, presented by Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) and Congressman David Dreier (R-CA). While meeting with Ms. Harman last week for a “next steps” strategy meeting, I can tell you she really cares, and has worked hard on getting legislation enacted for us. Remember, this is round two.
We have new support in the House, from Congressman Barney Frank as well as the FDIC. So now we need to gain the support of the Senate as the plan is to place this legislation into Conference and have it added to the Financial Reform Bill.
The fastest way for us to gain support is to get signatures on the “Letter of Support” from every Californian you possibly can, to show strength and solidarity for this bill to the Senate, particularly our California Senators. Then we will present these signatures to our Senators and ask that they not only support this legislation, but also encourage their fellow Senators to do the same.
WE NEED EVERYONE’S HELP THIS WEEK!! Please download and print as many copies of the documents that we have prepared for you. First there is the Depositor Letter of Support. This form allows you as a depositor to add your information as well as any of the facts that you would like the Senators to hear about. The second form is a General Letter of Support that you can use to gather many signatures on. Please let those you approach know that their information will never be sold or shared with anyone other than the Senators and Congressmen that we present them to.
So please garner signatures from friends, family, co-workers, strangers, fellow members of your houses of worship, bridge clubs, country clubs or your grocer, postal worker, everyone who is a Californian. On the bottom of each form is a Fax number as well as a US Mail address to use to return the form to me. The Fax will be the fastest and most preferred. You can scan and email back to this address if that works for you as well.
SO PLEASE GATHER AS MANY SIGNATURES AS YOU CAN THIS WEEK SO WE CAN BEGIN OUR PUSH FOR THE SENATORS SUPPORT!!!
IndyMac Depositors meet with Congresswoman Jane Harman
On Thursday, June 3, 2010, Jane Harman welcomed 10 IndyMac depositors to her office in El Segundo, CA.
HARMAN, DREIER “InDY ACT” PROVIDES RETROACTIVE PROTECTION FOR INDYMAC DEPOSITORS l
Lawmaker says ~“We have spent a trillion dollars bailing out Wall Street, the auto industry and banks. It’s time for more help for Main Street.”~
Washington, D.C. – Reps. Jane Harman (D-Venice) and David Dreier (R-San Dimas) today introduced H.R. 5429, the “Investor Deposit Yardstick Act” (InDY Act) to raise retroactively the limit on the insured savings of depositors in banks that collapsed between January and October 2008, when the federal government raised the FDIC insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000 per account.
The largest savings and loan in the Los Angeles area, IndyMac, failed in July 2008, wiping out $233 million in savings from approximately 6,500 depositors overnight. Their savings were insured only up to $100,000 per account.
The legislation would also retroactively protect the savings of 1,500 depositors in five other failed banks in Florida, Montana, Arkansas, Kansas and Nevada.
“Our bill will restore to IndyMac customers what they suddenly lost in July 2008, and treat them as equals to other Americans whose savings were swallowed by the economic crisis,” said Harman. “Congress can make these people whole again. We have spent a trillion dollars bailing out Wall Street, the auto industry and banks. It’s time for more help for Main Street.”
“Seeking fairness for former IndyMac depositors has been a priority since the bank’s takeover in the summer of 2008,” Dreier said. “Their losses were no less difficult and no less tragic than those that occurred later that same year. It is only fair that the families and small business owners who kept their savings with IndyMac receive the same protection as those who lost funds at other financial institutions but were covered by the higher deposit insurance amount.”
Another plea for HELP!
Yesterday I wrote regarding the above subject and will include a copy of the letter in this correspondence that follows.
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WE THE DEPOITORS, CREATED THE BUSINESS’S, THE JOBS AND THE CAPITAL, AND THEN INTRUSTED OUR MONIES INTO BANKS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REGULATED AS REQUIRED BY LAW. AND BECAUSE THE AGENCIES DID NOT WATCH OVER THE BANKS AS IS REQUIRED BY LAW, (THE BANKS, THE BROKERS, MORTGAGE BUYERS WERE ALLOWED TO BREAK THESE LAWS) WHICH CAUSED CAUSED THE FAILURE AT INDYMAC.
And when this failure at Inidymac occured it became appearant to the government that the FDIC coverage of 100K was not sufficient and should be permanantly changed to 250K per eligible account/depositor.
Therefore it would only be just to make the new coveerageage retroactive to cover the Indymac depositors.
If you and others vote yes to do this ( using TARP) monies I promise to put the monies back into the economy.
A Plea for help !!!
Not only was I an Indymac depositor (for business use & for personal future retirement savings) who lost 167,000.00 in monies deemed uninsured,
- but I was a small business owner, whom has started 5 successful different business over
over the last 30 plus years and whom has created and employed 100+ workers over that
time frame.
- as a result i have had to close my current businesses and can no longer employ workers.
- I have never asked for or taken ( nor would I ) any public assistance or government monies
of any kind nor would I.
- I and my wife now drive a 16 year old van and clip coupons and sell things on ebay to get by.
- As required by law, i I have declared & paid taxes on interest earned on paper
( Principal and Interest on monies that I have not and will never see ).
Kind of Ironic, that you have to pay taxes on Interest credited to an an account whose
balance was reduced by 167,000.00 ( which was more than 10x the amount of interest earned)
-
Before opening the account I was told by Indymac supervisor and also by a supervisor
at the FDIC (whom i called prior) that I plus all named ITF (in trust for’s) would each
receive 100k insurance coverage. Unfortunately this is incorrect, (as i learned from a
newly created FDIC calculator program that did not exist prior) when the person whose
account it is names ITF’s then that person no longer counts as one of the names eligible
for for 100k insurance coverage.
———————–
- And some how by sheer luck the buyers of the indymac bank paid a price equal to an amount that just covered the 50% advance paid out to depositors. How would FDIC officals know immediately after taking over the bank how much they would be able to seell it for.
- And then the new owners (whose paid and put up pennies on thee dollar) were given a cap of 20% losses on any non-performing loans whereby the govt would pay an additional losses.
- so if the govt was guaranteeing 80-90% of the asset value why were depositors only given 50% and then told there would be no more monies paid out.
————————
– the FDIC agenicies that are supposed to watch over banks were asleep and corrupt (in telling Indymac to falsify deposit records) which directly allowed thee greedy/corrupt bankers and mortgage brokers to line their pockets which commissions
on inflated asset value….
— Then the govt rewarded those with mortgages who got in over their heads, reducing their interest to near zero and extending their payments out as much as 40 years.
— The govt also reward first time home buyers with an 8000 tax credit, that should go to all home buyers
It should not have gone to just first time home buyers since they are the ones with the least credit who got themselves into
crazy mortgages with variable rates…
The govt also then bailed out insurance companies who owned thesee assets and were suppoosed to be in part responsible
for mortgage insurance on 1st and 2ndmortgages…
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WE THE DEPOITORS CREDITED THE BUSINESS’S, THE JOBS AND THE CAPITAL, AND THEN INTRUSTED OUR MONIES INTO BANKS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REGULATED AS REQUIRED BY LAW. AND BECAUSE THE AGENCIES DID NOT WATCH OVER THE BANKS AS IS REQUIRED BY LAW, (THE BANKS, THE BROKERS, MORTGAGE BUYERS WERE ALLOWED TO BREAK THESE LAWS) WHICH CAUSED CAUSED THE FAILURE AT INDYMAC.
And when this failure at Inidymac occured it became appearant to the government that the FDIC coverage of 100K was not
sufficient and should be permanantly changed to 250K per eligible account/depositor.
Therefore it would only be just to make the new coveerageage retroactive to cover the Indymac depositors.
If you and others vote yes to do this ( using TARP) monies I promise to put the monies back into the economy.
Sincerely
Ronald Bucell
FDIC’s Bair offers no comfort to uninsured IndyMac depositors
Town Hall LA held its latest “Industry Outlook Briefing” on Wednesday, Oct 28. Shiela Bair, Chairman of the FDIC was the keynote speaker. A group of IndyMac Depositors were in attendance and were allowed to ask questions of the Chairman. E Scott Reckard of the LA Times was also in attendance and published the following story yesterday:
FDIC’s Bair offers no comfort to uninsured IndyMac depositors
The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. delivered some bad news personally to uninsured depositors who lost money last year when IndyMac Bank crashed and burned, saying an act of Congress is their only hope for recovering their funds.
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Congresswoman Jane Harman Responds to Constituents
Earlier today, I received a copy of a fantastic letter from Congresswoman Jane Harman to Barney Frank, Chairman of the Committee on Financial Services. Congresswoman Harmon has definitely been listening to her constituents and we are so happy. Thank you Jane!
Click on the image of the letter to the left to read the whole letter.
If you are not in Jane Harman’s district, please send a copy of the letter….available here…..to your Senate and Congressional representatives and ask for the same from them for you.
Onward and upwards!
Rep. Jane Harman’s office in El Segundo
Dear Blog followers:
At the beginning of April, I met with Jane Harman’s office in El Segundo, California. In an urgent plea to get backing behind Rep. Adam Schiff of Pasadena to call for an investigation of the FDIC, and the OTS, I met with staff members of Jane Harman’s office.
I can tell you that the office told me this was the first they’d heard of this problem. I have great difficulty with that statement, since many of you who live in her district claim to have complained & reported the problems of Indymac depositors.
Today is May 14th. I have called several times to follow up on the visit. Ms. Harman is busy saving her own career, and not nearly as worried about constituents, in my humble opinion. I still urge each of you to write to members of Congress who represent your district. Find and write to your Senators. Make appointments with them and their staff before the recess in June. Do you get a recess? I don’t. Let’s get them working for us. Cheers, LM
Letter to Congress and House Financial Services Staff
Click Here to get a copy of the letter to send to Congress and the House Financial Services Staff asking for a hearing and review before Congress of the Indymac issue.
You can add your name, address and telephone, then utilize the Congressional contact list to locate your representative or CLICK HERE to find Congressman Barney Frank, and the House Financial Services staff.
Press Release
News release: Company Information:www.indymacdepositors.com
Indymac Depositors Sacrificed for Hedgefund Manager’s Profits?
Summary: Insurance limits have been raised, the OTS has disclosed errors in booking capital, the FDIC has refused to make its communications practices more transparent, and hedge fund manager and potential IndyMac acquirer John Paulson has recommended increased liquidity for the full return of capital to hedge fund investors 10,000 IndyMac depositors have approached Paulson to be heard.
Emeryville, CA, December 31, 2008 – 12 noon EST
After many months of fruitless lobbying the FDIC and learning of the Treasury investigation of OTS regulator Darell Dochow’s decision to allow IndyMac to backdate an infusion of capital from May to March 2008 to keep the bank off the watchlist, IndyMac depositors who lost 50% of their uninsured funds are putting their situation before one of IndyMac’s potential buyers, hedge fund manager John Paulson, to ensure the sale of the bank pays attention to their situation.
“When John Paulson, whose $13-billion Paulson Advantage Plus fund has risen some 38 percent through Dec. 19, testifies before Congress on the wisdom of the $700 bailout and states clearly in his 2009 outlook that hedge fund managers should raise enough liquidity to cover all the redemption requirements of their investors, we want to be heard,” says Fran Quittel, technology recruiter and business journalist, who has lobbied the FDIC for months now regarding changes to make their communications practices more transparent and depositor friendly. “We’ve been in touch with Paulson’s spokesperson Armel Leslie and are awaiting his reply to see if we can also be made whole in this transaction and if not, why not, particularly since we were cash depositors and not shareholders, investors or traders of any sort.”
In fact, Quittel is only one of several IndyMac depositors who have sprung into action to protest the handling of the bank’s takeover and current sale. “That we have received no attention from the FDIC since this started, and this sale is being done in the week between Christmas and New Year’s is yet another example of how the entire matter has been handled,” says Lisa Marshall, creator of http://www.indymacdepositors.com/, a site where uninsured depositors who have lost funds are flocking to post their stories. The sale, if and when it happens, will ensure that the FDIC – but not the 10,000 uninsured depositors – are repaid first for any funds expended in the takeover.
On July 11, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) closed IndyMac Bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) receiver. Depositors who held one or more accounts totaling more than $100,000 per depositor had funds in excess of the limit reduced by 50%. In October of 2008, FDIC insurance limits were raised to $250,000 per depositor per institution until December 31, 2009, with additional protections provided non-interest bearing business payroll accounts, some of which had also been reduced by 50% in the IndyMac failure. On December 22, 2008, Eric Thorson, Inspector General of the US Treasury, reported to Senator Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Committee on Finance, that OTS regulator Darrell Duchow had allowed IndyMac to backdate an $18 million infusion of capital. News of the pending sale of IndyMac bank was tentatively announced on Christmas Eve. Congress is planning hearings on IndyMac beginning January 7, 2009. IndyMac’s group of uninsured depositors is asking to be included in those hearings.
Information on IndymacDepositors.com (http://www.indymacdepositors.com/), communications to Congress and the many efforts expended to improve FDIC communications to depositors can be obtained through:
CONTACT: Lisa Marshall – 310-344-4098, indymacdepositors@gmail.com creator/http://www.indymacdepositors.com/ Hamir Bhatia – 714-269-0252, acsvision@hotmail.com Fran Quittel – 626-864-1400/cell, francq@aol.com, http://www.fdicbusinessalert.com/
Uninsured depositors can join the effort by going to http://www.indymacdepositors.com/. Members of Congress responsible for banking and finance include: . Representative Barney Frank . Senator Christopher Dodd . Senator Chuck Schumer . Senator Charles Grassley California senators contacted by IndyMac depositors are Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Contacted representatives include Barbara Lee, Jane Harman, Henry Waxman, and Adam Schiff.