IndyMac Buying NYMT Retail Network

IndyMac Bancorp, Pasadena, Calif., has agreed to purchase the 32-branch retail platform of New York Mortgage Trust for $13.4 million.NYMT's chairman and co-CEO Steven Schnall -- who will be joining IndyMac when the sale closes -- told MortgageWire that the move will help the thrift meet its goal of becoming a top-5 retail lender. (According to the Quarterly Data Report, IndyMac ranks 23rd among retail residential lenders, NYMT 41st.) The transaction is slated to close by the end of March. The branch network -- 21 full service outlets and 11 satellite locations -- runs from Florida to New Hampshire, but is heavily dependent on the Northeast and New England. NYMT, a real estate investment trust, is trying to sell its wholesale operation as well. Retail accounts for 75% of the nondepository's production. (For more details, see the Feb. 12 issue of National Mortgage News.) The companies can be found online at http://www.indymacbank.com and http://www.nymtrust.com.