Commercial chapter 11 bankruptcy filings climbed 118 percent in February 2024, with 882 filings versus the 377 filings in February 2023, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. The sizable increase in commercial chapter 11 filings in February was spurred by a large number of related filings in the Thrasio and Hornblower Holdings proceedings. Total February commercial filings increased 48 percent to 2,546 from the 1,720 commercial filings in February 2023. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 78 percent to 213 in February 2024, up from 120 the previous year. Total bankruptcy filings were 39,014 in February 2024, a 22 percent increase from the February 2023 total of 31,909. February marks 19 consecutive months that total, individual, and commercial bankruptcy filings have registered monthly year-over-year increases. Individual bankruptcy filings increased 21 percent in February to 36,468, up from the February 2023 individual filing total of 30,189. There were 21,158 individual chapter 7 filings in February 2024, a 25 percent increase over the 15,717 filings recorded in February 2023, and there were 14,871 individual chapter 13 filings in February 2024, a 9 percent increase over the 13,678 filings last February.
