Nov 18 (Reuters) - OneWest Bank FSB, which emerged from the failed lender IndyMac, plans to pay a $1 billion dividend to backers ahead of an initial public offering next year, Bloomberg News reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.

The dividend, which regulators have yet to approve, would return most of the money that a group invested in OneWest as it acquired IndyMac from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) in 2009, Bloomberg News said. ()

OneWest is now preparing for an IPO after trying to find a buyer earlier this year, according to the report.

OneWest's owners, which include funds managed by billionaire investors John Paulson and George Soros, had tried to find a buyer and held talks with a handful of banks to gauge buyout interest in March.

A spokesman for OneWest was not immediately available for comment. Paulson & Co and Soros Fund Management could not be immediately reached.

In March 2009, the FDIC sold some $20 billion of IndyMac's assets and $6.4 billion in customer deposits to OneWest, a new bank formed by Paulson, Soros and other investors, for about $13.9 billion.

OneWest now has 75 retail branches and total assets of over $25 billion, according to its website.