IndyMac decision thwarts Alesco's financials

Alesco Financial Inc. is taking a financial hit from a large mortgage lender's decision to defer interest payments on a type of complicated security at the core of the credit crisis.

The Philadelphia specialty-finance company said the five securities most affected by the IndyMac Bancorp Inc. decision contributed 44 percent of its $20.17 million in adjusted first-quarter earnings.

But, Alesco said, it will not receive that money for the next four to seven quarters - until debt owed to certain other investors in the securities is paid down.

In trading yesterday, Alesco's shares did manage to regain most of what they had lost since IndyMac's announcement Monday. The shares closed at $2.83, up 20.94 percent, or 49 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.

Alesco said it had enough money to continue its 25-cent quarterly dividend for the rest of the year.

Hybrid securities issued by IndyMac were in eight so-called CDOs - or collateralized debt obligations - that Alesco manages and invested in. Those CDOs were used to raise money for banks and insurance companies. As of March 31, Alesco had lost $19.6 million of the $251.9 million it invested in such securities.

Alesco fared far worse with its CDOs that invest in mortgage-backed securities. In that arena, the company lost its entire investment of $120 million.