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Total U.S. bankruptcy filings increased 5 percent in May 2017 over May of last year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Bankruptcy filings totaled 69,668 in May 2017, up from the May 2016 total of 66,138. The 66,096 consumer bankruptcy filings in May 2017 were also up 5 percent over the May 2016 consumer total of 62,726. Total commercial filings also climbed 5 percent in May 2017, as the 3,572 filings increased slightly over the 3,412 commercial filings registered in May 2016. However, total commercial chapter 11 filings decreased 8 percent to 563 in May 2017, down from the May 2016 total of 613.

Fewer subprime borrowers are paying off their auto loans early, a possible sign that consumers with weaker credit scores are struggling more, according to a report by Wells Fargo & Co. researchers, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Borrowers are making fewer extra payments on loans that were bundled into bonds in 2015 and 2016, compared with loans in 2013 and 2014 bonds, according to Wells Fargo analysts led by John McElravey. The data on prepayments may offer another sign that subprime consumers are having more trouble paying their bills, the analysts wrote in a note on Tuesday. Borrowers are already defaulting on a growing amount of auto debt. Last decade, slower monthly payment rates on credit cards were an early sign of the consumer credit cycle changing for the worse, the analysts wrote. For auto loans, slower prepayment may be more of a coincident indicator than a leading one, they wrote.

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, defended the need for the agency, which has been under near-constant attack from Republicans this year, saying yesterday that it provides important protections for consumers, Reuters reported. Cordray rarely addresses political moves or the lawsuit that could defang his agency, which was created after the financial crisis to protect individuals from fraud in lending. In a speech at a community development conference, Cordray did not mention names or specifics. But he argued at length for maintaining the CFPB's rulemaking work, its enforcement powers, and its public database of consumer complaints — all at the heart of current assaults on the agency. "Consumers want and need to have someone stand on their side to see that they are treated fairly. We seek to protect them against unfair surprises, frustrating runarounds and bad deals that ruin their credit, cost them their homes and saddle them with further problems," Cordray said.

Credit scores for U.S. consumers reached a record high this spring while the share of Americans deemed to be some of the riskiest borrowers hit a record low, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Consumers’ improving fortunes reflect falling unemployment and continued economic growth. In ever-growing numbers, the worst personal financial setbacks, namely foreclosures and bankruptcies, are falling off Americans’ credit reports. More than six million U.S. adults will have personal bankruptcies disappear over the next five years, according to a recent Barclays PLC report. The average credit score nationwide hit 700 in April, up one point from last fall, according to new data from Fair Isaac Corp. That is the highest since at least 2005. That was the year Fair Isaac, the creator of widely used FICO credit scores that range from 300 to 850, began tracking the data. Meanwhile, the share of consumers deemed to be riskiest, with a score below 600, hit a new low of roughly 40 million, or 20 percent of U.S. adults who have FICO scores, according to Fair Isaac. That is down from 20.5 percent in October and a peak of 25.5 percent in 2010.