I made a deposit of $141,000 with IndyMac. Even though the limit for insurability was $100,000, I felt comfortable. No huge bank had been closed for many years. Three weeks later, IndyMac bank went belly-up.
I found out the day of closing (a Friday in July) that the bank would return $100,000 and would pay back another $20,000 as a "dividend" at the direction of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The following week, an FDIC agent told me an IOU would be issued to me; as the bank's assets were sold, I would be first in line to receive the rest of my money.
A month later, I spoke to an FDIC agent in Dallas who told me it was very "unlikely" that I would receive any more money. She said the FDIC had already decided how much it would invest in that bank's closure and all but said the IOU was worthless.
I see IndyMac's assets being sold now, and the bank continues to conduct business as usual. But I have had no communication and it's looking grim. The government keeps throwing money at financial institutions, but obviously nothing is coming my way.
-- Jackie, Dallas