Skip to main content
Help Center
banner

ABI Blog Exchange

article-exchange

Insolvency Service “reframes” view of creditor – IPs can apply their discretion (UK)

Read Article

Americans are Innumerate and Broke

And not just the ones I tell stories about from my clinical law teaching. Some of our readers have written in to say that these clients of ours, these title loan and payday loan customers, are idiots or worse yet, should be institutionalized for

7 questions to ask before making an offer on a home

What's wrong with this house? Ask this and other questions before making an offer.

CD investing: Safety trumps yield

Investing in a CD reduces risk, and nowadays the yield stacks up to other safe choices.

Boost credit score with help from a friend

Becoming a user on someone else's credit card could raise your credit score. Find out how.

Which states have the highest rates of foreclosure?

Nevada and California had the highest rates of foreclosure in July. See if your state made the list.

Yankee bonds: higher risk, and return

It's not what you think. Find out what a Yankee bond is and if you have an appetite for it.

Data Insecurity Is a Systemic Threat

Recent bank data breaches have been so severe as to merit mentioning in the first annual report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council as a potential systemic threat.

Disclosure Statement Saves the Day! Fifth Circuit Provides Guidance on Preserving Claims In a Plan of Reorganization

Texas bankruptcy courts have recently issued conflicting decisions interpreting Fifth Circuit case law on the amount of disclosure required to preserve post-confirmation claims in a plan of reorganization under Bankruptcy Code section 1123(b)(3)(B)

Any Bright Ideas?

Jean Braucher has noted the FHFA's RFI on foreclosure prevention. A huge problem with any proposal is the time to implementation for anything. It took months to develop flops like FHASecure, Hope4Homeowners, and FHAShortRefi. Any program where the

Are Corporations People Too?

The "corporations are people, my friend" line was quite the momement. But as bad as it sounded, Mitt had a theoretical point. People (as well as other corporations) own corporations and people work for corporations. The problem isn't that there aren

The Systemic Risk Industry

There seems to be a cottage industry now in proposals to solve and/or mitigate systemic risk. I'm myself somewhat of a guilty party. The producers here are law profs and economists (and probably some other disciplines as well). These proposals fall

Bankruptcy Politics and State Bankruptcy

I have a new paper out, Bankrupt Politics and the Politics of Bankruptcy, that examines state bankruptcy proposals and then uses them as a jumping-off point for sketching out a political theory of bankruptcy as a "creditor's armistice," an unstable

Dear Gov. Perry: Bernanke Is No Traitor

The GOP presidential hopeful went too far in suggesting that Bernanke's policies are "treasonous."

A Settlement Payment is still a Settlement Payment

Following the Second Circuit’s recent precedent in an Enron appeal (also the subject of a Basis Points blog post), Judge Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York concluded that the redemption of notes prior to

Egg-Purse Designer’s Company Cracks in Bankruptcy

Celebrities have been understandably hesitant to carry Alex Caldwell’s handbags down the runway. But Hollywood has found other reasons to call upon the purse designer, whose egg-shaped art pieces have made it possible for fashion-bold women to wear

The Daily Docket: Lehman Goes After Broker Bonuses

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is going after dozens of former brokers who Lehman says must pay back bonus money they received when joining the firm, and so far the investment bank is faring quite well. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review article here

Credit Card Securitization and Skin-in-the-Game

I have a new paper on credit card securitization and what it teaches us about the likely effectiveness of the Dodd-Frank Act's skin-in-the-game risk retention requirements. Credit card securitization has long required 4%-7% credit risk retention (cf

A Countrywide Bankruptcy Could Thrust BofA Into An Epic Litigation Battle

Countrywide seems to be the latest financial giant facing the possibility of bankruptcy due to foreclosure toxic run off. The mortgage company, which was absorbed by Bank of America (BofA) is bleeding revenue fast, causing the nationwide bank to

Post-Bankruptcy Survival: How The Debt Downgrade Could Impact Your Finances

For debtors filing bankruptcy, the ability to rebuild their credit rating after their bankruptcy discharge is critical to their fresh financial start. But what about the impacts of a sluggish economy and more specifically the impact of America’s

Post-Bankruptcy Survival: Four Things You Should Know About Your Credit Card

One of the first tools post- bankruptcy debtor uses to rebuild their credit score is the credit card. While they may start off with a secured credit card, within a year of making regular payments post- bankruptcy debtors can graduate to unsecured