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Direct Mortgage Payments Are ‘Under the Plan,’ Ninth Circuit BAP Says
BAP joins the majority of courts by saying that defaulting on direct mortgage payments precludes a chapter 13 debtor from receiving a discharge.
Judge Name - Do not use it.
Julia W. Brand
Rising Rents for Millennials Give Rise to a New Breed of Lender
Several startups are now offering loans to recent college graduates, professionals moving to a new city and others who want to build credit or could use assistance making rent payments, the Wall Street Journal reported. These companies, which also include Uplift, Domuso, StayTony and Till, are entering a market long associated with payday lenders. Compared with cash-advance loans, which come with annual interest rates as high as 700 percent in some states, funds from the rent-lending startups are available at much lower cost. Some are competitive with credit-card borrowing rates at less than 20 percent. The pitfall to such credit is that the loans might encourage some young renters to live beyond their means. Large cities often have a high cost of living that can push residents ever deeper into long-term debt and strain their credit scores. Outstanding consumer credit, which doesn’t include mortgage loans, exceeded $4 trillion for the first time last year, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
ABI Launches Veterans Affairs Task Force Website to Provide News and Information on Initiatives to Help Financially Struggling Servicemembers
Alexandria, Va. — The ABI Task Force on Veterans and Servicemembers Affairs launched veterans.abi.org to provide updates and information on initiatives and activities to assist debt-burdened veterans and servicemembers. The Task Force aims to unite and deploy the expert resources within ABI to understand, respond to and coordinate with other institutions and organizations to educate, remediate and prevent adverse debt concerns and impacts on veterans and servicemembers. The new website provides information about Task Force members, as well as projects and activities to assist financially struggling veterans and servicemembers. Specific sections include:
- Committees: Learn about the five committees — Pro Bono, Legislation, Financial Education, Outreach and Tribal — that support the Task Force’s efforts.
- Twitter Feed: Follow @VetAffairsTF to get the latest Task Force news and information via Twitter.
- Members: Learn more about the professionals, including its members who are veterans and those who are active or retired servicemembers, volunteering to help financially struggling servicemembers.
- Podcasts: Listen to the podcasts on the formation of the Task Force, how to get involved, and why the Task Force is providing Congress with information regarding the HAVEN Act of 2019.
- Press: Read articles and news reports about Task Force activities.
Be sure to bookmark the website for ABI’s Task Force on Veterans and Servicemembers Affairs to get the latest news, information and activities of the Task Force as it advances its mission of addressing problems specific to financially struggling veterans and servicemembers. You can also follow as the Task Force adds resources to assist veterans and servicemembers facing financial difficulties.
Members of the press looking to speak to a member of the Task Force regarding the Task Force’s efforts should contact ABI Public Affairs Manager John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or jhartgen@abiworld.org.
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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 11,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.
U.S. Stepping Up Enforcement on Delinquent Student Loans
The U.S. government stepped up collections on delinquent student debt to $2.9 billion last year — or an average of $1,000 from 2.9 million former students and their cosigners, according to the Treasury Department, Bloomberg News reported. And the trend continues: In the first six months of fiscal 2019, which started Oct. 1, collections totaled $3.3 billion. Graduating students are usually granted a six-month grace period before making loan payments. Hypothetically, a member of the Class of 2019 with $50,000 in loans would owe about $550 per month over the next decade — or $20 daily. (Assuming 6 percent annual interest and a 10-year term.) Read more.
The issue of student loan debt and bankruptcy is the first problem addressed in the Final Report of the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy. Click here to download your copy.
