Trouble persists for some IndyMac customers

Many IndyMac customers who are moving their money to another bank won't be able to access all of their funds for more than week.

By law, the other banks must make IndyMac cashier's check deposits up to $5,000 available for withdrawal in one business day. But any amount over that can be held up to nine business days.

That's rough for Los Angeles resident Ash Carene, who doesn't have time to wait for an IndyMac check to clear at another bank. He needs more than $100,000 for a down payment by Friday to complete the purchase of a three-bedroom house in San Diego. If he misses the deadline, he could violate the terms of the sales contract and lose his $10,000 deposit.

"I'm still waiting in line to get inside," the 40-year-old computer programmer said Thursday afternoon. "I was here in the morning and left to take care of business. I waited a little bit, hoping the line would get better and came back later."

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that one woman who tried to deposit her IndyMac check at a Washington Mutual Inc. branch in South Pasadena, Calif., said a manager told her the new policy was not to accept IndyMac checks. If the customer insisted, she said she was told, it could take eight weeks or more to access the full amount.

But Olivia Riley, spokeswoman for Washington Mutual, said the bank is accepting IndyMac checks, but declined to discuss the specifics of its check-clearing policies.

"We have a check-hold policy that takes into consideration a variety of factors, for example, the amount of the check and the state where the check originated," she said.

Other national banks contacted by The Associated Press said they're operating within regulatory requirements regarding deposits of IndyMac checks.

Wells Fargo & Co. did express concern about people creating fraudulent IndyMac checks, but said it is following the same guidelines it applies to all bank checks, which can include a hold on the check.