By Ed Flynn, ABI
While bankruptcy filings soared prior to the Oct. 17, 2005, the effective date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). filings slowed to a trickle immediately afterward. Between Oct. 17 and Dec. 31, 2005 only about 40,000 bankruptcy cases were filed — less than 2 percent of the annual total.
In 2006, filings were down 70 percent from 2005, and were only about 40 percent of the annual average from 2000-04. Between 2006-10, filings nationwide increased by 158 percent, returning to pre-BAPCPA levels in many states. This has been followed by five years of declining filings. In 2015, total filings will be barely one-half of 2010 levels. Read more.
For further perspectives on bankruptcy filing trends for both consumers and businesses, be sure to listen to ABI’s “BAPCPA at 10” media webinars.
