IndyMac Cuts 10% of Staff, May Take 3Q Loss

IndyMac Bancorp, the nation's eighth-largest funder of residential loans, said Sept. 7 that it will cut 10% of its staff in coming months -- roughly 1,000 workers -- as it prepares to lose money in the current quarter.In a statement, IndyMac chief executive Mike Perry predicted that the company's loan production will fall by one-half in the fourth quarter, "although we are experiencing some pricing power on new loans such that our margins are improving." The Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac recently transformed its production from mostly alternative-A loans to mostly loans eligible for securitizing by the government-sponsored enterprises. Mr. Perry blamed "illiquidity in the secondary markets" for IndyMac's woes. He said the company will report third-quarter earnings of break-even to a loss of 50 cents a share. IndyMac Bancorp is a holding company of a federally insured depository.