Loans Expert

Bankrupt student loan holders may have access to a new safety net if they have private loans, thanks to a bill introduced to the United States House of Representatives earlier this month.

The “Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010” was introduced in the House April 15 and if passed, would make it easier for students to terminate their private student loan debt if they declare bankruptcy.

“This bill will help to ensure that people who seek higher education to better their futures are not dissuaded from doing so by the threat of financial ruin,” bill sponsor Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn, said in his address of a committee when the bill was introduced.

The nation’s auto dealers are to head to the U.S. Senate on Monday, ready to play man-to-man defense to stop a bill that would for the first time put their lending business under a single federal watchdog.

Even though the regulatory plan has the support of the Obama administration and key Democrats, past showdowns suggest it’s never wise to bet against the car dealers.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is a key supporter of the consumer financial protection agency proposed in the financial reform bill set to hit the Senate floor soon.

The nation’s leading consumer banks gave a grim assessment of the mortgage industry today in testimony on Capitol Hill. Chief among them was Bank of America’s head of home loans who said a “considerable number of customers” will lose their homes in the next two years.

Hundreds of thousands of Bank of America customers haven’t made a mortgage payment in more than a year. And more than a million others are at least two months behind in their payments.

Only a small fraction of Bank of America customers have had their mortgages modified to make payments more affordable.