Contact: John Hartgen
703-894-5935
TOTAL U.S. BANKRUPTCIES IN FIRST HALF OF 2010 UP 14
PERCENT OVER FIRST HALF OF 2009
August 17, 2010, Alexandria, Va.— The total number of
U.S. bankruptcies filed during the first six months of 2010 increased 14
percent over the same six-month period in 2009, according to data
released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Total
filings reached 810,209 during the first half of the calendar year of
2010 (January 1-June 30), compared to 711,550 cases filed over the same
period in 2009. The totals represent the highest number of filings for
the first six months of a calendar year since 2005, when the Bankruptcy
Code was amended.
“Bankruptcy continues to be the last resort for many Americans
seeking financial relief from household debt, unemployment and the
economic downturn,” said ABI Executive Director
size='3'>Samuel J.
Gerdano. “The first half 2010 filings show that
bankruptcies are on pace to surpass 1.6 million by year
end.”
Business filings decreased 4 percent for the six-month period ending
June 30, 2010, to 29,059 from the first-half 2009 total of 30,333.
Chapter 11 business reorganizations registered the sharpest decrease, as
the 6,152 filings during the first half of 2010 represented a 17 percent
drop from the 7,396 total chapter 11 business filings during the first
half of 2009. Chapter 7 business liquidations remained nearly unchanged,
as there were 20,385 in the first half of 2010, a half percent increase
from the 20,375 business chapter 7 filings during the same period in
2009.
Filings by individuals or households with consumer debt increased 15
percent to 781,150 for the six-month period ending June 30, 2010, from
the 2009 first-half total of 681,217. Consumers filing for chapter 7
protection increased 17 percent to 571,417 during the first half of 2010
from 489,128 during the first six months of 2009. Consumer chapter 13
filings increased as well, rising 9 percent as 208,778 consumers filed
for chapter 13 in the first half of 2010 from 191,458 during the first
half of 2009.
The 422,061 total filings for the second calendar quarter 2010 (April
1-June 30) represented a 11 percent increase from the second quarter
2009 filing total of 381,073. Consumer filings increased 12 percent from
365,059 recorded in the second quarter of 2009 to 407,609 filings in the
second quarter 2010. Business filings decreased 10 percent from 16,014
in the second quarter 2009 to 14,452 filings in the second quarter of
2010.
The 1,572,597 total filings for the 12-month period ending June 30,
2010, represented a 20 percent increase from the same period in 2009,
which totaled 1,306,315. The bankruptcy filing rate per thousand U.S.
residents totaled 5.05 for all chapters during the 12-month period
ending June 30, 2010, as 3.64 Americans per thousand filed for chapter 7
while 1.36 per thousand filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Nevada maintained its position as the state with as the state with
the highest per capita filing rate in the country, with 11.74 residents
per thousand filing in all chapters, and also had the highest per capita
filing rate for chapter 7 filings at 8.71. The state with the highest
per capita filing rate for chapter 13 bankruptcy was Alabama at 4.16 per
thousand for the 12-month period ended June 30, 2010.
Nonbusiness filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2010,
were up to 1,521,989, a 21 percent increase from the 1,251,294 total
nonbusiness filings over the same period in 2009. Business filings for
the 12-month period ending June 30, 2010, totaled 59,608, up 8 percent
from the 55,021 bankruptcy petitions filed in the 12-month period ending
June 30, 2009.
The 1,133,320 total chapter 7
filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2010, represent a 25
percent increase from the 907,603 filings from the same period in 2009.
Total chapter 11 filings increased 2 percent to 14,272 in the 12-month
period ending June 30, 2010 from 13,951 during the same period in 2009.
Total chapter 13 filings also increased 10 percent to 424,242 in the
12-month period ending June 30, 2010, from 384,187 during the same
period last year. Chapter 12 filings increased 56 percent from 422 in
the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009 to 660 for the same period in
2010.
Chapter breakdowns of BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending
June 30, 2010: 10,311 chapter 7s; 2,859 chapter 11s; 194 chapter
12s; and 1,071 chapter 13s.
Chapter breakdown of NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending
June 30, 2010: 299,369 chapter 7s; 511 chapter 11s; and 107,727
chapter 13s.
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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
12,600 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
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'>
face='Times New
Roman'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
*Definitions from Bankruptcy
Overview: Issues, Law and Policy, 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.
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.
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.