Writing a loan down, on the other hand, means that it stays on the bank's balance sheet at a reduced but perhaps still inflatedvalue, and the collateral backing the loan is not sold.
Baby-boomers can chuck the day job at 60 or 65 and head off into the perma-tanned sunset (they will probably prove freakishly long-lived), borrowing against the inflatedvalue of their houses as they do so.