NEW YORK, NY July 14, 2008 —Sen. Charles Schumer is defending himself against claims by regulators that he's partly to blame for the collapse of IndyMac Bancorp.

The regulators say Schumer caused a run on the bank by releasing a letter about the possible risk of IndyMac failing.

The New York Democrat says there was nothing in the letter that wasn't already public knowledge.

SCHUMER: The breadth and depth of the problems of IndyMac were created and apparent for years, and they accelerated in the last six months.

REPORTER: Depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion during the 11 days after the letter was released.

On Friday, the Office of Thrift Supervision transferred control of IndyMac to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation because it did not think the lender could meet its depositors' demands.

The bank is scheduled to reopen today as IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB, under the oversight of the FDIC.

Regulators say IndyMac is the largest regulated thrift to fail and the second-largest financial institution to close in U.S. history.