Bankruptcy Blogs

NCBJ 2014: Ethics and Supreme Debate

10/12/14
Saturday concluded NCBJ with ethics and the Supreme Court review.   (There was also a program on scientific studies of mindfulness which I missed).
[more]

NCBJ 2014: Thinking the Unthinkable: Bankruptcy for Large Financial Institutions

10/11/14
Jeffrey Lacker, President of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, made the case for why large financial institutions should subject to bankruptcy as the ABI Luncheon Keynote Speaker.  He started his address with the question "Why is a central banker interested in bankruptcy?"  His answer was that during the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the government played a role by distorting incentives of market players with multiple discretionary interventions which destabilized expectations.
[more]

NCBJ 2014: Hedging Your Bets, Examining an Expert and Secured Creditors in Charge

10/11/14
I spent the morning listening to presentations on very disparate topics:  hedge funds, examining an expert witness and the balance between secured creditors and unsecured creditors.   I was not able to capture the full extent of the discussions and in some cases my descriptions below may be a bit cryptic.   My intent is not to provide a transcript, but rather to provide a flavoring of issues being discussed at NCBJ. 
[more]

NCBJ 2014: Fed Economist Says "I've Got to Admit It's Getting Better, A Little Better All the Time (It Can't Get Much Worse)"

10/10/14
William A. Strauss, an economist with the Chicago Fed, delivered the keynote address for the Commercial Law League of America's luncheon Thursday.   His overall forecast was for slow but steady growth, declining unemployment and low interest rates as the country digs its way out of the Great Recession.    In other words, he predicted a good climate for reorganizing debtors.
[more]

Fed’s Lacker: Living Wills Will Reduce Risk of Failing Financial Firms

10/10/14

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said Friday financial firms’ so-called “living wills” should do a lot to strengthen the financial system, if banks and regulators respect these plans.

The living wills in question are plans by financial companies detailing how they expect to be wound down in the event of running into trouble. Mr. Lacker, speaking in Chicago, said these plans are vital to ending the perception that many firms are considered to be too-big-to-fail and will be bailed out by the government in the event of trouble.

[more]

To Create Shareholder Value, Start by Visualizing Your Terrain

10/10/14

Defining your bank's limits on earnings and minimum capital requirements can help safeguard against the reckless pursuit of return on equity.

[more]

Forward Motions: Energy Future Seeks to Pay Bankruptcy Bonuses

10/10/14

Energy Future Holdings Corp. will continue making its case next Wednesday in Wilmington, Del., to pay as much as $18 million in bonuses to upper management. A hearing on the matter began on Oct. 8 and spilled into Oct. 9, as the company faces a fight from U.S. Trustee Roberta A. DeAngelis.

Among Ms. DeAngelis’s problems with the package is a pre-existing bonus arrangement that could nearly double the amount Energy Future is seeking.

[more]

How Mortgage Insurance Can Improve Credit Access

10/10/14

In order to make homeownership more affordable, the FHFA should make sure that GSE guarantee fees fully recognize private mortgage insurance and restore the longstanding tax-deductible treatment of mortgage insurance premiums.

[more]

Morning Scan: Bernanke's Testimony and Pseudonym; Here Come the AG's

10/10/14

Editor's note: Morning Scan will not publish on Monday, Oct. 13 in observance of the Columbus Day holiday. We'll be back on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Receiving Wide Coverage....

Bernanke, Annoyed: Unsuccessful home-refinance applicant Ben Bernanke was the final star witness on Thursday in the shareholder lawsuit challenging the federal government's bailout of American International Group. Most of his answers were terse, according to several media reports, and he was often "visibly annoyed," the Journal reported. At one...

[more]