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Banking lobby ignores current mortgage law

By Cathy Moran

Spokesmen for the banking lobby expect the world to stop spinning if bankruptcy judges gain the right to modify home mortgages. They construct a parade of horribles if a contract between a lender and a borrower is altered.

What they don’t explain is why this very same power to modify mortgages has not crushed the market for rental property, second homes, and commercial buildings. A bankruptcy plan can, today and for decades past,  change the terms of a loan on any of those kinds of property. Last I looked, the world was still turning.

The prohibition on altering the terms of a home loan is a 1984 addition to the bankruptcy law enacted in 1978. It is a special carve out for the home lending industry. Congress was told that it was necessary to promote home ownership. Perhaps a change is necessary to preserve home ownership.

My veterinarian father used to say that a goose is so stupid that it wakes up in a brand new world every morning. He probably didn’t know any lobbyists.

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About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

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Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

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