Collin Barr at Fortune has written a blog post tsk-tsking former IndyMac CEO Michael W. Perry.
IndyMac stock has been under intense pressure for the past year time, thanks to the billions of dollars in questionable loans the firm made during the housing boom. Last Monday, IndyMac fired half its workforce as it shut down its lending business in a last-ditch effort to stay afloat. “In this very difficult and challenging environment,” then-CEO Mike Perry wrote in a note to shareholders July 7, “any of the actions that we take to keep Indymac safe and sound unfortunately have negative consequences to some important constituency.”
What’s remarkable is that just two months ago, Perry was calling the plunge in the company’s stock unwarranted, even as house price declines accelerated. “Given the decline in our stock price, some people have questioned Indymac’s survivability in the current environment,” he wrote back on April 30, with IndyMac shares trading at $3.25 apiece. “I am here to tell you that I believe we have turned a corner and that our business is improving.” Sen. Chuck Schumer surely hasn’t covered himself in glory in this episode, but it’s hard to match Perry for sheer shamelessness.
Comparing Perry to Schumer is spurious at best. As a CEO, Perry did the right thing to shore up his customers and to do the right thing by making difficult choices.
Today it was announced the FBI is investigating ‘IndyMac’ (no targets have been named yet) – and Barr is already attacking Perry. It is likely that Perry will be swallowed up by the crisis because Enron has taught us that mobs form and get very vocal very quickly. But this is a great example of the denial of the expectation of innocence.
2 Comments
July 26, 2008 at 11:08 am
Hi,
Sounds like you are coming out in support of IndyMac CEO Perry. I think he’s not much better than a Nigerian scamster – except for a better command of English, and perhaps a better suit.
Have you read this – the way he abused his position and ran IndyMac like it was his fiefdom? Once can only imagine.
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/files/my_experience_at_indymac_general_real_estate_mortgage_and_economic_discussions_appraisers_forum.pdf
I think it is unquestioning journalists like you, who cannot analyze, cannot look beyond what is spouted by some scheming CEO – you do us the disservice. You have the stage, the public’s eyes but come out with lame analysis. A real lack of quality. Very sorry.
July 26, 2008 at 11:20 am
VJ,
I am absolutely open to the possibility that he’s corrupt but so far HE HASN’T EVEN BEEN ACCUSED OF ANYTHING.
It’s called Presumption of Innocence. Look into it.