Mortgage Mods Doomed by Back End Debt   Much like America's
waistlines, the Treasury Department's monthly reporton the Home
Affordable Modification Program continues to grow.  What started
as a four-page report has now reached ten pages, with the latest
addition to the "lender accountability" category: Conversion
Rate and Aged Trials as Share of Active Trials.  Don't get me
wrong, these provide a lot of insight into why so many borrowers
are not getting permanent modifications. The top four lenders
(Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and CitiMortgage)
take up the bulk of the bottom slots on the Conversion Rate
chart. All four convert less than 26 percent of trial mods to
permanent mods.  While most don't want to go on the record with
me, lest they rile the regulators, Bank of America's Rick Simon
says initially, "All the major banks, at Treasury's suggestion,
went to non-verified income for verification."  That seems to be
the crux of the problem.  Imagine that: Folks who didn't have to
show any pr