According to an article released from Bloomberg today, IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the second- biggest independent U.S. mortgage company and parent company of Financial Freedom, posted a record fourth-quarter loss and suspended its dividend “indefinitely”  as the housing slump entered its third year.

Suspending the annual dividend of $1 a share and reducing IndyMac’s balance sheet by 14 percent because of limited lending will “free up” $400 million of added capital. The moves will avert the need for “fire-selling either the entire company or our reverse mortgage business, which should be a tremendous long- term asset for our shareholders,”  said Chief Executive Officer Michael Perry.

According to the Bloomberg article, Perry said in an interview last month that IndyMac has a “good shot” at rebounding from losses in 2007 and posting a profit in the second half of this year. Falling interest rates on home mortgages may encourage homeowners to refinance and boost production of loans above previous forecasts, he said.  To read a copy of the article from Bloomberg click the link below.

IndyMac Posts $509.1 Million Loss as Slump Deepens (Update2) (Bloomberg)