Bankruptcy Filings Highest Since 2006 Article

BK Filings

Bankruptcy Filings Highest Since 2006

Article Dated May 14, 2010

Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010, rose 27 percent when compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. March 2010 bankruptcy filings totaled 1,531,997, compared to the 1,202,395 bankruptcy cases filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009.

Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter Years Ended March 31, 2006-2010
Chapter
Year	7	11	12	13
2010	1,100,032	15,251	605	415,966
2009	819,304	11,774	367	370,836
2008	560,015	6,971	343	334,551
2007	413,294	5,199	372	276,649
2006	1,432,074	6,497	366	355,756

Business and Non-Business Filings Years Ended March 31, 2006-2010
Year	Total	Non-Business	Business
2010	1,531,997	1,470,849	61,148
2009	1,202,395	1,153,318	49,077
2008	901,927	871,186	30,741
2007	695,575	673,615	21,960
2006	1,794,795	1,759,503	35,292

This is the highest number of total bankruptcy filings since the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006. A significant decline in bankruptcy filings occurred in October 2006, when many of the provisions of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) took effect.

Business and Non-Business Filings
The majority of bankruptcy filings involve predominantly non-business debts. Non-business filings (also called personal or consumer filings) for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010, totaled 1,470,849, up 28 percent from the 1,153,318 bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009.

Filings involving business debts also rose. They totaled 61,148, up 25 percent from the 49,077 business bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009.

Filings by Chapter
For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010, filings rose for all bankruptcy chapters.

Chapter 7 filings rose 34 percent to 1,100,032, compared to the 819,304 Chapter 7 filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009.
Chapter 13 filings rose 12 percent to 415,966 from the 370,836 bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009.
Chapter 11 filings rose 30 percent, to 15,251, compared to the 11,774, Chapter 11 filings in the same time period in 2009.
Chapter 12 filings rose 65 percent to 605, from the 367 filings for the 12-month period ending March 2009.

Quarterly Filings*
PERIOD	FILINGS	PERIOD	FILINGS	PERIOD	FILINGS	PERIOD	FILINGS
MAR. 31, 2010	388,148
MAR. 31, 2009	330,394	JUN. 30, 2009	381,073	SEPT. 30, 2009	388,485	DEC. 31, 2009	372,203
MAR. 31, 2008	245,695	JUN. 30, 2008	276,428	SEPT. 30, 2008	292,218	DEC. 31, 2008	301,253
MAR. 31, 2007	193,641	JUN. 30, 2007	210,449	SEPT. 30, 2007	218,909	DEC. 31, 2007	226,413
MAR. 31, 2006	116,771	JUN. 30, 2006	155,833	SEPT. 30, 2006	171,146	DEC. 31, 2006	177,599
MAR. 31, 2005	401,149	JUN. 30, 2005	467,333	SEPT. 30, 2005	542,002	DEC. 31, 2005	667,431
MAR. 31, 2004	407,572	JUN. 30, 2004	421,110	SEPT. 30, 2004	396,438	DEC. 31, 2004	371,668
MAR. 31, 2003	412,968	JUN. 30, 2003	440,257	SEPT. 30, 2003	412,989	DEC. 31, 2003	393,348
MAR. 31, 2002	379,012	JUN. 30, 2002	400,686	SEPT. 30, 2002	401,306	DEC. 31, 2002	395,129
MAR. 31, 2001	366,841	JUN. 30, 2001	400,394	SEPT. 30, 2001	359,518	DEC. 31, 2001	364,921
MAR. 31, 2000	312,335	JUN. 30, 2000	321,729	SEPT. 30, 2000	308,718	DEC. 31, 2000	310,169
MAR. 31, 1999	330,784	JUN. 30, 1999	345,956	SEPT. 30, 1999	323,550	DEC. 31, 1999	318,634
MAR. 31, 1998	354,118	JUN. 30, 1998	373,460	SEPT. 30, 1998	361,205	DEC. 31, 1998	353,108
MAR. 31, 1997	335,073	JUN. 30, 1997	367,168	SEPT. 30, 1997	353,515	DEC. 31, 1997	347,685
MAR. 31, 1996	266,149	JUN. 30, 1996	297,162	SEPT. 30, 1996	303,309	DEC. 31, 1996	311,131
MAR. 31, 1995	212,626	JUN. 30, 1995	235,302	SEPT. 30, 1995	233,593	DEC. 31, 1995	244,494

* Because of ongoing corrections to the bankruptcy database, the quarterly data may not total to the most recent annual figures. In addition, beginning with the quarter ending June 30, 2009, the Administrative Office implemented a new system for reporting bankruptcy data from the courts. The new system counts intradistrict transfers differently, which may lead to small revisions in filings counts in previous quarters.