Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
AUGUST CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP 29 PERCENT
OVER PREVIOUS YEAR; SET POST-BAPCPA RECORD FOR SINGLE MONTH
September 3, 2008, Alexandria, Va.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>— U.S. consumer
bankruptcy filings increased 29.2 percent nationwide in August from the
same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute
(ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center
(NBKRC). The overall August consumer filing total of 96,413 also
set a single month high since the October 2005 effective date of the new
bankruptcy law. Chapter 13 filings constituted 33.2 percent of all
consumer cases in August, a slight increase from July.
“The latest data reflect the growing trend of U.S. consumers to
seek bankruptcy as a way out of financial problems,” said ABI
Executive Director
size='3'>Samuel J. Gerdano. “We expect
bankruptcies to exceed 1.1 million by year end.”
###
ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization
dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency.
ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than
11,700 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders,
turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a
forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional
information on ABI, visit
face='Times New Roman'>www.abiworld.org. For additional
conference information, visit
title='blocked::http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'>
color='#0000ff'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
NBKRC is an online research center that offers subscribers access to
up-to-date research and statistics on bankruptcy filings. The database
contains complete information dating back to 1995. For more information
on NBKRC, please visit
href='http://www.nbkrc.com/'>
color='#0000ff'>http://www.nbkrc.com.
size='3'>*Definitions from Bankruptcy
Overview: Issues, Law and Policy
size='3'>, by the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Chapter
7 of the Bankruptcy Code is available to
both individual and business debtors. Its purpose is to achieve a fair
distribution to creditors of the debtor’s available non-exempt
property. Unsecured debts not reaffirmed are discharged, providing
a fresh financial start.
size='3'>Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy
Code is available for both business and consumer debtors. Its purpose is
to rehabilitate a business as a going concern or reorganize an
individual’s finances through a court-approved reorganization
plan.
size='3'>Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy
Code is designed to give special debt relief to a family farmer with
regular income from farming.
Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an
individual with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific
amounts; it is typically used to budget some of the debtor’s
future earnings under a plan through which unsecured creditors are paid
in whole or in part.