ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano talks with Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com. A witness before Congress and frequently quoted in the media, Zandi shares his views on the current mortgage crisis as well as his views on current legislative proposals looking to remedy the housing downturn, such as the Senate’s housing assistance package and legislation that would allow a bankruptcy judge to modify the primary mortgage of a chapter 13 debtor.
ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano talks with James Scurlock the director, producer, screenwriter and author of the critically acclaimed documentary and book, Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders. Scurlock, the guest speaker at ABI’s Debt Symposium at the University of Illinois on May 2, discusses his powerful work that takes an in-depth look at the credit industry, some of the industry’s practices and the effect that credit card debt has on consumers. Click here to listen to the podcast.
ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano talks with Robert O. Sanderson, the current president of the INSOL International and a senior partner with KPMG LLP’s Transaction Advisory Services Group based in Toronto. A past president of the Insolvency Institute of Canada, Sanderson discusses some of the challenges faced by global insolvency practitioners in the current credit environment. Click here to listen to the podcast.
The latest podcast features two of the speakers who will be featured at the upcoming Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium on Debt as ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano talks with Profs. Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago and Paul M. Vaaler of the University of Minnesota. Sponsored by ABI and the University of Illinois, the Symposium taking place May 2-3 will feature leading U.S. and international scholars talking about debt from a wide range of academic disciplines. Prof. Vaaler’s presentation focuses on how and why credit assessors “get it wrong” when judging the risk of borrowers, while Prof. Sufi attributes the mortgage default crisis in large part to the degree of separation between borrower and lender via the securitization process.
ABI Deputy Executive Director Felicia S. Turner talks with Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett of the Northern District of Alabama (Birmingham), the current president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ). Appointed to the bench in 1995, Judge Bennett discusses the effect of BAPCPA on the workload of bankruptcy judges. He also discusses current legislation addressing judicial pay raises and home mortgage modification. Click here to listen to the podcast.
ABI Deputy Executive Director Felicia S. Turner talks with Samuel K. Crocker, the current president of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees and a partner in the firm of Crocker and Niarhos in Nashville, Tenn. Having served on the panel of chapter 7 trustees for the Middle District of Tennessee for almost 25 years, Crocker discusses some of the changes and challenges to the trustee practice due to BAPCPA. He also discusses the relationship of chapter 7 trustees to the debtor bar and the Office of the U.S. Trustees. Crocker concludes with his thoughts on some of the recent trends seen in bankruptcy filing numbers as well as a discussion of home mortgage modification legislation currently being considered by Congress. Click here to listen to the podcast.
The latest ABI podcast features a discussion between ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano and Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) about the legislation that Miller is sponsoring to allow bankruptcy judges to modify the mortgage on the primary residence of a chapter 13 debtor. Miller was elected to Congress in 2002 and has established his reputation as an advocate for consumer-protection issues, especially those to protect consumers from predatory financial practices. Miller discusses H.R. 3609 as well as other congressional responses to troubles in the mortgage market.
This podcast features a discussion between ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano and American Enterprise Institute Resident Fellow Alex J. Pollock about the current troubles in the subprime mortgage market. With nearly 35 years in the banking industry, including twelve years as president and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Pollock is a leading expert on housing issues and has testified recently on Capitol Hill on the subprime mortgage downturn.
ABI Deputy Executive Director Felicia S. Turner talks with Roberta DeAngelis, Acting General Counsel for the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees, about some challenging chapter 11 issues that are recurring in cases of all sizes. With BAPCPA having shepherded in changes affecting debtors in possession and the U.S. Trustee’s oversight of chapter 11 cases, DeAngelis talks about the U.S. Trustees’ positions on such issues as key employee retention plans and §1104(e). She also discusses the Program’s positions on other items of interest to chapter 11 practitioners and professionals, such as a debtor in possession’s retention of a chief restructuring officer and the new bankruptcy rule regarding procuring certain relief during the first 20 days of a case.
Claude “Chip” Bowles Jr. of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC (Louisville, Ky.), the chairman of ABI’s professional fee study advisory board and practitioner advisory board, discusses the results of ABI’s chapter 11 professional fee study with reporter Prof. Stephen J. Lubben of Seton Hall University School of Law. The recently completed study examining the issue of professional compensation in chapter 11 cases was funded by the American Bankruptcy Institute Endowment Fund.