A once-successful titan in the insurance industry, AIG (American Insurance Group) became enmeshed in America's home mortgage meltdown by insuring questionable debt accrued by banks and other institutions around the world.

VOA: standard.2009.03.24

Part of--this is the--it's not loan-to-value ratio-- this is the ratio of mortgage debt to personal consumption expenditure.

这并非贷款价值比率的问题,一定程度上,是抵押率的问题,即负债对个人消费支出的比率

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选

You can see that in the early 1950s mortgage debt was only something like 25% of personal consumption expenditure, but now it's up to about 100%.

抵押贷款在20世纪50年代,只占个人消费支出的25%,现在却占到几乎100%

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选

Then if you fail to pay on the mortgage--pay off the debt -the lender can seize the property and sell it.

然而如果你无法偿还贷款,贷方可以没收这项财产并出售

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选