The movant bears the burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that the debtor’s debts were “consumer” rather than “business,” and the debtor’s subjective purpose in taking out the loans is a crucial factor where the debts do not fall neatly into either category. Centennial Bank v. Kane, No. 21-4597 (N.D. Cal. July 22, 2022). [Read more…] about Refinancing Loans Not Consumer Debts
Federal Reserve of St. Louis Issues Debt Report
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis issued its inaugural edition of Quarterly Debt Monitor reporting on trends in consumer debt. The report, titled “Consumer Debt Rises for Tenth Quarter in a Row,” by Don E. Schlagenhauf and Lowell R. Ricketts, compared the four largest metropolitan statistical areas in the district of the Eighth Federal Reserve with national averages. The focus was on mortgages, home equity lines of credit (HELOC), automobile and student loans, and credit card balances. The article concludes that after a period of deleveraging following the recession of 2007-2009, consumer debt is on the rise again particularly in the areas of automobile and student loans. Home mortgage debt went up to a lesser degree for people in the 31- to 40-year and 66- to 75-year age ranges, but went down in the age range in between. [Read more…] about Federal Reserve of St. Louis Issues Debt Report