On April 1st Mr Nakabo becomes head of Japan's version of the Resolution Trust Corporation, the company set up to recover loans made by America's Savings-and-Loans institutions.

ECONOMIST: The enforcer

James Lockhart, head of the agency, urged U.S. mortgage servicing firms--companies that process payments of loans rather than owning them outright--to adopt the plan as a national standard.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The new head of the central bank has also been calling in overdue loans.

BBC: Rare strike alarms Iran's leaders

Auto loans in particular have gone to the head of the line for households that have to decide which bill to pay first, according to Chicago-based TransUnion, the credit bureau.

FORBES: When It Comes To Car Payments, The Check Is In The Mail, Honest

According to Lou Tisler, head of Neighbourhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland, a local community group, mortgage lenders are becoming more willing to renegotiate loans.

ECONOMIST: America's property crisis

The head of General Motors proudly proclaimed that GM has repaid their government loans.

FORBES: Our Leaders Need to Start Acting Like Leaders!

Yes, Proview is pretty much bust, about to lose its stock market listing, the head honcho of Proview has already been declared personally bankrupt (he was personally guaranteeing loans to Proview which the company then defaulted on).

FORBES: Proview v. Apple: It's All Getting More Interesting

But in my discussions with Matt Philo, head of MacKay Shields High Yield Group and a longtime investor in both high-yield bonds and loans, we concluded that generalizing is often difficult to do in the investment business.

FORBES: The Hunt For Yield: Bank Loans Or High-Yield Bonds?

Among them were Rebecca Mairone, head of default servicing, and Janis Allen, assistant general counsel for the company's home-loans and insurance unit.

WSJ: Lenders Talk to States on Foreclosure Probes