UpChuck

Every observer of the Washington DC scene who has a clue knows that Senator Chuck Schumer is a narcissistic, camera-hogging, microphone-grabbing clown who desperately wants everyone to think him to be a very important man. Normally this is amusing-- watching transparent human pathologies and failings play out in the open often is entertaining-- as long as nobody gets hurt.

But, last night after the markets closed, the Office for Thrift Supervision had to move control of IndyMac to the FDIC. The OTS put the blame for the recent run on the Pasadena, CA institution squarely on the slumped shoulders of the gasbag Senator from New York. Because one sad sack politician had to act like he's in charge a bank fails. Will he pay a price? Of course not. Approval rating of Congress: 9%. There's a good reason why bank regulators, federal reserve officials and treasury secretaries, among others, are closed-mouth. Chuck Schumer and his Democrat friends in government and "journalism" have been talking down the economy for some time now in hopes of gaining the executive branch this fall. But to openly promote a bank run is so far beyond normal, venal, politics it is breathtaking.

From the 6PM July 11, 2008 press release:

The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors’ demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York. The letter expressed concerns about IndyMac’s viability. In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts.
“This institution failed today due to a liquidity crisis,” OTS Director John Reich said. “Although this institution was already in distress, I am troubled by any interference in the regulatory process.”