Is it a bank or a thrift?
Hal Morris, writing on his Grumpy Editor blog, notes that many media outlets have been using the term “bank” to refer to IndyMac Bank when it’s actually a thrift.
Morris writes, “Equally fuzzy were many reporters, editors, headline writers and broadcasters on the type of institution that was closed, notes Grumpy Editor.
“Most simply used the word ‘bank.’
“That was partially correct — but technically wrong.
“What confuses things is ‘bank’ in the name of the institution. The full name of the failed operation:  IndyMac Bank, FSB. The FSB stands for federal savings bank, which is different from a commercial bank such as Bank of America.
“A savings bank’s primary purpose is accepting deposits and putting those funds to work as a mortgage lender. Clouding things somewhat is that since deregulation in the 1980s, a savings bank can offer services competitive with many commercial banks.
“Along with savings and loan associations, savings banks also are called ‘thrifts.’Â So thrift, correctly, should be in headlines and texts relating to IndyMac.”
Read more here.
I’d hate to risk making the grumpy editor even grumpier, but he’s wrong. Using the term `thrift’ may be a nifty, and accurate, way to distinguish a savings bank from a commercial bank, but it is by no means the only one that works. `Savings bank,’ `savings & loan’ and even `bank’ — when you’re working with limited space — are acceptable, I think, so long as you explain at some point how the institution works.
Think of it this way: Would you insist editors call Goldman Sachs a `securities firm,’ and not an `investment bank’ since its primary function is to buy and sell securities? Nah.
So lay off the humble headline writers and find a new target. I hear the financial press is totally responsible for the “recession.”