IndyMac May Sell Stake in Reverse Lender

IndyMac Bancorp, which acquired Freedom Financial from Lehman Brothers in 2004, may now spin off a stake in the nation's largest reverse mortgage lender through an initial public offering.In response to a question during IndyMac's quarterly earnings call, IndyMac chairman and chief executive Michael Perry said his company is "seriously considering" an IPO for its Financial Freedom subsidiary. He added that there is a "75% to 90% chance we'll do it." A spinoff of Financial Freedom would allow the company to recruit and maintain top management with stock options and let them run the company, Mr. Perry said. Financial Freedom, based in Irvine, Calif., closed $2.9 billion of reverse mortgage accounts last year. It is also the largest servicer of reverse home loans, managing a 77,000 loan portfolio.