IndyMac Boosts Stake in Financial Freedom

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., has announced that it will increase its ownership stake in Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. from 93.75% to 100%, a change in direction from an earlier move to consider going public with the subsidiary.IndyMac said it decided to change course after announcing in May that its board had authorized management to plan for an initial public offering of Financial Freedom shares. "After thorough analysis, we determined that it is in the best interest of our shareholders for IndyMac to keep Financial Freedom as a wholly owned subsidiary focused on the senior market," said Michael W. Perry, IndyMac's chairman and chief executive officer. "This will allow us to fully leverage IndyMac's systems, infrastructure, and mortgage banking expertise in a way that will enable Financial Freedom to remain a highly profitable and dominant player in the fast-growing but ever more competitive reverse mortgage market." IndyMac Bank can be found online at http://www.indymacbank.com.