Highlights
HOUSE COMMITTEE TO MARK UP HOME MORTGAGE MODIFICATION LEGISLATION TOMORROW
The House Judiciary Committee will tomorrow hold a full committee mark-up session of H.R. 3609, the “Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007," sponsored by Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.). The bill would allow judges to order mortgage lenders to ease terms for homeowners in bankruptcy proceedings. It narrowly passed out of the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law as it was opposed by Republicans on the panel. Click here to read the bill text.
Click here to read ABI's Updated Summary of Home Mortgage Modification Legislation.
COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL OFFERS REFINANCING PROGRAM TO SUBPRIME BORROWERS
Countrywide Financial, the nation's largest mortgage lender, announced a program today to refinance or modify up to $16 billion of its loans due to reset at higher payments through the end of next year, CNNMoney.com reported. The program is targeted to 80,000 borrowers who face the risk of default because their current variable rate mortgages would see payments jump to levels they could not afford, prompting a default of those loans. Countrywide said that it has identified 52,000 borrowers, who collectively have borrowed about $10 billion, that it believes it can move into prime loans or those guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. Another 20,000 borrowers who have more severe credit issues but are current with their loan payments could be eligible for modifications of their loans. That group has loans totaling about $4 billion. Finally, Countrywide said it will send letters offering pre-determined, pre-approved rate reduction for an additional 10,000 borrowers who are delinquent on payments on loans totaling $2.2 billion. Click here to read the full article.
SOME LENDERS CURBING MORTGAGES IN DEPRECIATING MARKETS
Lenders such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are cutting the maximum amount some borrowers can finance in counties or states where home prices are declining, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Mortgage companies are also taking a tougher look at appraisals in housing markets with falling prices in areas such as California, Florida and Michigan. Some of the lenders are reducing the maximum combined loan-to-value ratio, a measure of how much of a home's value a borrower can finance using a mortgage and a home-equity loan. In August, J.P. Morgan Chase's home-equity division cut the maximum amount borrowers in Nevada can finance to 85 percent of the home's value. The unit will not let borrowers finance more than 90 percent of their home's value in seven other states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and New York. Citigroup also cut the maximum amount certain borrowers in "depreciating" markets can finance through a mortgage and home-equity loan. Click here to read the full article. (Registration required.)
LEGISLATION PROPOSES TAX-FREE RETIREMENT SAVINGS WITHDRAWALS FOR HOMEOWNERS FACING FORECLOSURE
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) introduced S. 2201, the “Home Ownership Mortgage Emergency Act” (HOME Act), to allow homeowners who are 60 days late in their mortgage payments to withdraw penalty-free up to $100,000 from their retirement accounts through 2009 to avoid foreclosure, according to a press release on Friday. The HOME Act would make withdrawals for the purpose of refinancing or avoiding foreclosure penalty-free, as long as they are paid back within three years. Minnesota is currently fourth in the nation in terms of the percentage of subprime mortgages in foreclosure. More generally, the number of foreclosures has increased 183 percent in the last year. Nationally, foreclosures have doubled in the last year, and more than 14.5 percent of subprime mortgages are past due. Coleman is also a cosponsor of the Mortgage Cancellation Relief Act of 2007, which aims to make mortgage debt forgiveness tax-free. Click here to read the text of S. 2201.
KEEP UP ON THE LATEST BLOGS: USE ABI’S BANKRUPTCY BLOG EXCHANGE
The Bankruptcy Blog Exchange is a free ABI service that tracks nearly 25 bankruptcy-related blogs. New today is a post discussing limits on student loan garnishments.
Be sure to check back several times each day; any time a contributing blog posts a new item, a link to the item will appear on the top of this site. If you have a blog that deals with bankruptcy, or know of a good blog that should be part of the Bankruptcy Exchange, please contact the ABI Web team.
CONTRIBUTE ONLINE TO THE ABI ENDOWMENT FUND!
You can now contribute to the ABI Endowment fund via ABI World! Tax-deductible donations to the ABI Endowment Fund provide resources for leading-edge research and education that benefits the bankruptcy and insolvency community. Click here for more information on contributing!
ORDER YOUR COPY OF ABI’S QUICK EVIDENCE HANDBOOK
ABI's Quick Evidence Handbook is a practical and highly accessible primer on the mechanics of admitting (or excluding) evidence in bankruptcy cases. Written by Evan Slavitt of AVX Corp., an experienced litigator and past lecturer at ABI's Litigation Skills Symposium, the new book is especially valuable for new and young practitioners because it spells out what counsel needs to say to get documents admitted, experts qualified and witness testimony into the record. The 118-page, softbound text covers an overview of the types of evidence (direct, cross-examination, documents, experts and motions in Limine) with illustrations on how to get documents and testimony into the record. Also treated are the basics of the hearsay rules that most frequently occur in bankruptcy litigation. An appendix provides a wealth of other practical resources. (To obtain the discounted member price of $15, please log into the ABI World Web site first.) Click here to order.
ABI’S ‘NUTS AND BOLTS’ BANKRUPTCY FUNDAMENTALS FOR YOUNG AND NEW PRACTITIONERS AVAILABLE ONLINE!
ABI’s ‘Nuts & Bolts’ Bankruptcy Fundamentals for Young and New Practitioners is the first Nuts & Bolts program post-BAPCPA. An outstanding faculty of judges and practitioners explain the fundamentals of bankruptcy. Topics covered include: structure of the Code; commencing the case; concepts such as discharge, property of the estate, claims, priority, ethics, adequate protection and the automatic stay; executory contacts and leases; chapter 11 from beginning to end; and chapter 7 from both the debtor and creditor perspectives. Watch from the convenience of your home or office computer—24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the opportunity to earn CLE credit. Click here to purchase the online Nuts and Bolts program.
PROGRAMMING FROM ABI ROUNDTABLES ON COMMERCIAL AND CONSUMER DEVELOPMENTS AT NCBJ ANNUAL MEETING NOW AVAILABLE ON ABI DISTANCE LEARNING
Programming is now available on ABI Distance Learning from the three roundtables that ABI cosponsored at NCBJ’s Annual Meeting focusing on commercial and consumer bankruptcy developments. Panel sessions include:
- Gift and Carve-Out Plans and Other Developing Confirmation Issues in Chapter 11
- Cutting-Edge Issues in DIP and Exit Financing in Chapter 11 Cases
- The New Challenges of Chapter 13: Being Eligible, Administering Cases and Confirming Feasible Plans
Click here to order.
TOP INTERNATIONAL INSOLVENCY EXPERTS TO GATHER AT ABI’S 3rd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL INSOLVENCY SYMPOSIUM IN BERLIN THIS FRIDAY!
Register now for the ABI ’s Third Annual International Insolvency program on Oct. 26 at The Adlon Hotel in Berlin. The program brings together top international insolvency experts to discuss the current topics in the international insolvency and restructuring fields.
Programming includes tips for German practitioners, continuing problems in the auto industry, the workings of hedge funds and current trends in U.S. insolvencies and restructurings. Click here to register for the program.
REGISTER FOR ABI’S DETROIT CONSUMER PROGRAM!
Returning this year is ABI's Detroit Consumer Program on Nov. 12 (Veteran's Day holiday) at the Detroit Marriott Troy in Troy, Mich. This day-long program is designed especially for Michigan-area consumer practitioners to address their clients' most important issues, including the means test, dismissal for abuse, secured claims and options to deal with mortgage defaults. It is also structured to help both debtor and creditor practitioners maximize efficiencies in their practices, and to give attendees practical and helpful insight into the world of bankruptcy appeals with several area judges. The lunch speaker from the U.S. Senate will discuss proposed legislation on unfair credit card practices. The program will conclude with a judges' panel and reception. Program sessions include:
- Means Test Calculating
- Litigating the Presumption of Abuse under Section 707
- Secured Claims in Chapter 7 and 13
- Mock Appellate Argument: "Projected" Disposable Income Issue
- New Options When Facing Foreclosure
- Consumer Case Management for Debtors' and Creditors' Attorneys
Click here to register.
REGISTER FOR ABI’S 19th ANNUAL WINTER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Don’t miss ABI’s 19th Annual Winter Leadership Conference, taking place Dec. 6-8 at The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The conference features 11.75 hours of CLE credit, including 3.0 of ethics. Timely panel sessions at the conference include:
- Loan-to-Own Strategies of Hedge Funds and Private Equity Firms
- BAPCPA in the Courts: How Judicial Interpretation of the New Provisions Affects Your Cases
- Trying Valuation (on a Budget): Consumer Case Examples
- Subprime Paradigm: Lessons on Maximizing Value from the Subprime, 1031 and Servicer Cases
- Health Care Cases: Financing, Financial Management and Exit
- Individual Chapter 11: The New “Small Business” Option?
- Supreme Court Year in Review (and in Prospect): Judges’ Roundtable
- Ethics, E-Mail, the Web and the Blogosphere: Rules and Values for Practice in Cyberspace
The conference also includes a luncheon featuring best-selling author and political satirist Christopher Buckley, the presentation of the landmark ABI Fee Study and 16 committee education sessions. Also, don’t miss a performance by the ABI band, the Indubitable Equivalents!
Click here to register.
REGISTER NOW FOR ABI’S FOURTH CARIBBEAN INSOLVENCY SYMPOSIUM
Registration is now open for ABI’s Fourth Caribbean Insolvency Symposium at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla., Jan. 17-18, 2008. The program features up to 7.5 CLE credit hours, including 1.0 hour of ethics, with an expanded program including both business and international topics with a faculty of outstanding scholars, judges and practitioners from the region.
Timely topics include:
- Great Debate I: U.S. - Forum Shopping in the Caribbean
- Great Debate II: The Future of “in Pari Delicto”
- Nuts and Bolts of Chapter 15 Filing: Cases/Updates
- View from the Bench - Litigation Issues
- Poster Child of Troubled Industries in the Caribbean - The Hedge Funds
- Offshore or Off the Map? Recent Liquidation Issues for Offshore Registered Hedge Funds
- Best Practices/Ethical Practice in the Region
- Cross-Border Asset Protection and Recovery
Click here to register today.
REGISTER FOR ABI’S 13TH ANNUAL ROCKY MOUNTAIN BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE
Register now for ABI's 13th Annual Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference, to be held at the Westin Tabor Center in Denver from Feb. 14-15, 2008!
Conference programming will feature a faculty of outstanding scholars, judges and practitioners from the region with up to 9.0 CLE credit hours available, including 3.0 hours of ethics. Timely topics include:
- Supreme Court Cases and Hot Topics
- Business Fraud in Bankruptcy/Ethics: Taking Candy from Babies
- Current Issues in Bankruptcy Settlements
- Real Estate Development Issues
- Cutting-Edge Chapter 11 Issues under BAPCPA
- Litigation Skills Training: Preparing and Presenting Evidence; Effective Legal Writing
- Judges’ Roundtable: Coffee, Cocoa or Redbull?
- Consumer Workshop I: Creditor Abuse of Debtors and Remedies
- Current Issues and Developments in the Subprime Lending Industry
- Consumer Workshop II: Almost Poor, but Honest Debtors - Good-Faith Test
- Alternative Energy Development
- Weather Forecast: The Future of Bankruptcy
- Consumer Workshop III: First Meetings and Confirmation Hearings under Chapter 13
- Consumer Workshop IV: Pre-bankruptcy Planning under BAPCPA
Click here to register.
GET INVOLVED!
From publishing opportunities to committee involvement, ABI offers many options for members to raise their professional profiles. Click here for more opportunities.
INSOL INTERNATIONAL
The International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals INSOL International is a worldwide federation of national associations for accountants and lawyers who specialize in turnaround and insolvency. There are currently 37 member associations worldwide with more than 9,500 professionals participating as members of INSOL International. As a member association of INSOL, ABI's members receive a discounted subscription rate. See ABI's enrollment page for details.
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