Contact: John Hartgen
             (703) 739-0800
             [email protected]

BANKRUPTCY COURTS HAVE THE INHERENT POWER TO RECHARACTERIZE DEBT AS EQUITY, ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI POLL

February 26, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — A wide majority of respondents (62 percent) in a recent American Bankruptcy Institute online poll said that bankruptcy courts have the inherent power to recharacterize debt as equity. Forty-two percent of respondents “agreed strongly” and another 20 percent “somewhat agreed” that bankruptcy courts have the inherent power to recharacterize debt as equity.

Fourteen percent disagreed that bankruptcy courts had the inherent power to recharacterize debt as equity. Seven percent “disagreed strongly” and another seven percent “somewhat disagreed” that the bankruptcy courts had the inherent authority to recharacterize debt as equity. Twenty percent did not know or had no opinion on the issue.

ABI members and the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement: “Bankruptcy courts have the inherent power to recharacterize debt as equity.” The ABI Quick Poll was open for voting from Feb. 16-22.

ABI’s weekly Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 11,500 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.