Mediating the sub prime mortgage crisis

When America sneezes, the rest of us catch a cold.

So, I guess many mediators around the globe are working out how to get involved in the unfolding drama of the mortgage melt down.

In my neighbourhood we have had 9 financial institutions go to the wall in the last 6 weeks. There will be more.

In the UK there has been a run on Northern Rock Bank - the first run on a bank there since 1866.

As UK's ADR Group says "The threat of insolvency is now a reality facing many businesses that simply cannot cope or do not have business strategies in place to deal with this type of situation. Aggressive or opportunistic creditors are waiting in the wings to strike"

But our UK colleagues are hard at work looking at how mediation may assist in the UK's debt bubble and resolve commercial disputes for distressed businesses.

So too are the Americans - busy looking for ways that mediation can assist the defaulting homeowner.