The House has voted 302-126 for final passage of a bankruptcy reform bill that will make it harder for consumers with average incomes to use the bankruptcy courts to avoid repaying their debts.It has taken Congress eight years to pass the bill (S. 256), which has strong backing from the financial services industry. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation. (The Senate passed the bill in March by a 74-25 vote.) The bankruptcy bill addresses some commercial and residential foreclosure abuses. It also contains language prohibiting "cramdowns" to stop bankruptcy judges from reducing the principal amount of a home mortgage when the underlying value of the property has declined. Diane Casey-Landry, president of America's Community Bankers, said the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed cramdowns in 1993, but the practice persists. "This legislation will hold down the cost of home mortgage loans by once-and-for-all prohibiting federal district courts from reducing the value of secured loans in bankruptcy proceedings," she said.
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Doxo plans to fight the FTC complaint, which focuses broadly on consumer finance, but there are signs of confusion about the company's role in mortgages too.
April 25 -
Members of the LGBTQ community were most likely to have experienced housing bias, according to a Zillow survey, which also found many people don't recognize how fair lending laws could help.
April 25 -
Senior executives making over $151,000 would still be subject to such clauses should the rule go into effect this year.
April 25 -
Christopher J. Gallo and his aide, Mehmet A. Elmas, allegedly withheld information in mortgage applications, hiding that borrowers were purchasing second home properties.
April 25 -
Mortgage rates rose 7 basis points this week, Freddie Mac said, and more increases are likely following a weaker than expected gross domestic product report.
April 25 -
Independent mortgage bankers lost the most money ever on every loan originated last year due to higher rates and lower volumes, an industry trade group said.
April 25