Carmen Dellutri looked at the effect of the mortgage modification bill in Congress and the claims of bankers that interest rates will rise if bankruptcy judges can modify residential mortgages. He pointed out that the mortgage industry has not offered any proof that interest rates would rise.

Enter Prof. Adam Levitin. He has looked at data from a time when mortgages on a borrower’s principal residence could be modified in bankruptcy. Guess what he found? The risk of judicial modification made no discernible difference in interest rates.

So perhaps there is a very good reason, Carmen, that the bankers offer no proof to back up their scare mongering. Perhaps, there is no such evidence.