The government, as owner of mortgages and mortgage backed securities, will be allowed to make loan modifications by lowering principal and interest rates on mortgages, or extending the life of the mortgage.

FORBES: A Deal On The Bailout

The government, as owner of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities, will be allowed to make loan modifications by lowering principal and interest rates on mortgages, or extending the life of the mortgage.

FORBES: The Bailout: All Aboard

Reverse mortgage consumers struggle to understand how interest gets compounded on a loan that does not involve monthly payments on interest and principal.

FORBES: CFPB: Don't Get Stung By A Reverse Mortgage

If they prevail and have enough cash to repay the loan principal borrowers can get a refund of their interest and fees.

FORBES: Court Decision Gives Lenders A Headache, Borrowers An Ace In The Hole

Therefore, the cash flows of auto loan ABS include monthly interest, principal payment and prepayment.

FORBES: Examples of ABS

In government borrowing, the nation, its taxpayers, must pay interest on the principal borrowed whilst the government delays taxing the principal and repaying the loan.

FORBES: We'd All Better Hope Krugman Is Right On The U.S. Debt

His or her loan will be modified (interest rate reduced or principal forgiven) and because of new more lenient HAMP rules, when she or he defaults again, the loan can be rejiggered yet one more time.

FORBES: Meet The New Subprime: It Will Cost Us Billions

Regarding such a switcheroo as "income" is like making an interest-free loan and then telling yourself, as the debtor pays back only your principal, that you are earning a generous return on your money.

WSJ: The Intelligent Investor: Yields So High, They Can't Be for Real

Doing so would require it to dispense with the practice currently observed in transactions with the Soviet Union, namely providing a loan guarantee for no more than 98 percent of the principal and 4.5 percent of the interest rate.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Soviets Ask U.S. To Stick It To American Taxpayers As Banks Won��t Take Any Exposure On Loans To Moscow