National Mortgage News is reporting that the The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has set a Sept. 15 deadline for the first round of bids to buy IndyMac Bancorp.  Investors have been told they can bid on the entire franchise or its individual assets, which have been segmented into five different pieces. 

According to an investment banker who has seen the offering circular, the assets include: the thrift’s servicing portfolio ($180 billion in mostly residential rights) and platform; its home equity line of credit portfolio; a whole loan portfolio; its reverse mortgage business; a construction loan portfolio; and its depository franchise.  "They can bid for it in totality or in pieces," said the investment banker, who requested that his name not be used.

In July the FDIC hired Lehman Brothers to help with the sale due to the size of company.  Most analysts agree that the most attractive part of the bank is their reverse mortgage division, Financial Freedom.  

Since Financial Freedom never had to get licensed in any states due to IndyMac’s thrift charter, the natural buyer will be a company that’s already licensed in all 50 states – or a company that is or that owns a bank.  Garret Watts from MortgageNewsClips is betting on insurance heavyweight Mutual of Omaha, who just happens to own a thrift.

Insurance Giants love reverse mortgage companies…