Let's see if I remember this right--it was only yesterday on NPR. Feel free to comment on this version. After IMB went from a REIT to a thrift, so they could borrow at more favorable rates, they sought to attract deposits by offering better than average interest rates. That worked, except that they attracted the type of depositors who chase rates above all. They are a flighty lot. There was an increase in withdrawals as rumors circled about every bank and it had to be reported by IMB to the feds. That report caused the stock to dive. Spiral downward continued, add in Schumer's remarks that came after the first withdrawals. Other than that Vernon Martin has a very illuminating account of the institutional ethos...
