Chief
07-14-2008, 06:21 PM
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121599747071249831.html
Sen. Charles Schumer, hit with criticism from a federal regulator that he contributed to the failure of IndyMac Bank, said he may have caused some depositors to withdraw their money but said he wasn't responsible for the bank's downfall...
He said he wrote letters to federal agencies in June, and then made them public...
Sen. Schumer's office publicized the letter June 27...
IndyMac...said Mr. Schumer's statements caused "elevated customer inquiries and withdrawals" ...and that about $100 million had been withdrawn.
Traffic remained "somewhat elevated" on July 1, the bank reported, but was "substantially lower..." Sen. Schumer pointed to that statement as evidence that withdrawals eventually calmed down, even after his letters. Then, on July 8, IndyMac announced it would cut staff and write far fewer loans.
But the Office of Thrift Supervision has been critical of Sen. Schumer ...saying that in the 11 days following release of the letter, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion. OTS Director John Reich said Friday that Mr. Schumer sparked a deposit run that "pushed IndyMac over the edge." Publicizing the June 26 letters was "an unprecedented act," Mr. Reich told reporters... He said Sen. Schumer should have privately addressed his concerns...
Sen. Schumer rejected that, saying that, while banking regulators do their work in private, lawmakers typically do theirs in public. Sen. Schumer, the head of Senate Democrats' re-election effort, threw in a political jab as well. "Clearly what was happened here was the OTS, having the second-biggest bank failure on their watch, sought to blame the messenger. In sum, it's sort of classically what this administration does. Blame the fire on the guy who called 911..."
**SCHNIPP**
Rush Limbaugh was all over this story today and is referring to the good Senator as Charles "Chuck-U" Schumer for personally triggering the run on IndyMac Bank late last week. No bank can stand up to withdrawls of over $1.2 Billion, and that's what happened here...
Developing...
Sen. Charles Schumer, hit with criticism from a federal regulator that he contributed to the failure of IndyMac Bank, said he may have caused some depositors to withdraw their money but said he wasn't responsible for the bank's downfall...
He said he wrote letters to federal agencies in June, and then made them public...
Sen. Schumer's office publicized the letter June 27...
IndyMac...said Mr. Schumer's statements caused "elevated customer inquiries and withdrawals" ...and that about $100 million had been withdrawn.
Traffic remained "somewhat elevated" on July 1, the bank reported, but was "substantially lower..." Sen. Schumer pointed to that statement as evidence that withdrawals eventually calmed down, even after his letters. Then, on July 8, IndyMac announced it would cut staff and write far fewer loans.
But the Office of Thrift Supervision has been critical of Sen. Schumer ...saying that in the 11 days following release of the letter, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion. OTS Director John Reich said Friday that Mr. Schumer sparked a deposit run that "pushed IndyMac over the edge." Publicizing the June 26 letters was "an unprecedented act," Mr. Reich told reporters... He said Sen. Schumer should have privately addressed his concerns...
Sen. Schumer rejected that, saying that, while banking regulators do their work in private, lawmakers typically do theirs in public. Sen. Schumer, the head of Senate Democrats' re-election effort, threw in a political jab as well. "Clearly what was happened here was the OTS, having the second-biggest bank failure on their watch, sought to blame the messenger. In sum, it's sort of classically what this administration does. Blame the fire on the guy who called 911..."
**SCHNIPP**
Rush Limbaugh was all over this story today and is referring to the good Senator as Charles "Chuck-U" Schumer for personally triggering the run on IndyMac Bank late last week. No bank can stand up to withdrawls of over $1.2 Billion, and that's what happened here...
Developing...