Contact: John
Hartgen
(703) 739-0800
color='#0000ff'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
BANKRUPTCY
FILINGS IN FIRST HALF OF 2007 UP 48 PERCENT FROM A YEAR
AGO
August 16,
2007,
size='3'>Alexandria,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Va.—
size='3'>The total number of
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>bankruptcies filed during the first six months of 2007
increased 48.23 percent over the same period in 2006 in all bankruptcy
court districts, according to data released today by the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts. Total filings reached 404,090 during the
first half of the calendar year of 2007 (January 1-June 30), compared to
272,604 cases filed over the same period in 2006.
“The new upward
trend in bankruptcies reflects the economic reality of households under
increasing financial stress,” said
w:st='on'>
size='3'>ABI Executive Director
Samuel J. Gerdano. “We expect bankruptcy filings to continue to
rise for the balance of 2007.”
Filings by individuals or
households with consumer debt increased 48.34 percent to 391,105 for the
six-month period ending June 30, 2007, from the 2006 first-half total of
263,660. The overall percentage of consumers filing for chapter 13
protection fell slightly from 41.15 percent during the first half of
2006 (January 1-June 30) to 38.35 percent over the same period in 2007.
Conversely, the first-half 2007 percentage of chapter 7 consumer filers
increased to 61.58 percent from the 58.76 percent recorded in the first
half of 2006.
Business filings for the
six-month period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 12,985, representing a
45.18 percent increase over the first-half 2006 total of 8,944. Chapter
7 liquidations increased to 8,404 in the first half of 2007, a 65.21
percent increase over the 5,087 business chapter 7 filings during the
same period in 2006. Chapter 11 reorganizations also rose from 2,370 in
the first half of 2006 to 2,713 in the same period of 2007, a 14.47
percent increase.
The 751,056 total filings
for the 12-month period ending June 30 were down 49.41 percent from the
same period in 2006, which totaled 1,484,570 filings, a figure that
includes a surge in cases filed before the implementation date of a
major change in the law. The bankruptcy filing rate per thousand
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>residents totaled 2.48 for all chapters during the 12-month
period ending June 30, 2007, as 1.49 Americans per thousand filed for
chapter 7 while 0.97 per thousand filed for chapter 13
bankruptcy.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Tennessee
was the state with the highest per capita filing rate in
the country with 6.03 residents per thousand filing in all chapters, and
also had the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 13 filings at
3.78. The state with the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 7
bankruptcy was
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Indiana
at 2.98 per thousand for the 12-month period ended June
30, 2007.
Nonbusiness filings for the
12-month period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 727,167, down 50 percent
from the 1,453,008 total nonbusiness filings experienced over the same
period in 2006. Business filings for the 12-month period ending June 30,
2007, totaled 23,889, down 24.31 percent from the 31,562 bankruptcy
petitions filed in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2006.
The 450,332 total chapter 7
filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, represent a 61.34
percent decrease from the 1,164,815 filings from the same period in
2006. Chapter 13 filings fell 5.87 percent to 294,693 in the 12-month
period ending June 30, 2007, from 313,085 in the same period last year.
Chapter 11 filings also declined, falling 10.25 percent to 5,586 in 2007
from 6,224 in 2006. However, chapter 12 filings rose 7.22 percent from
360 in 2006 to 386 in 2007.
size='3'>BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month
period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 6,705, up 38.02 percent from the
4,858 bankruptcy business cases filed in the same period in 2006.
NON-BUSINESS FILINGS
for the 3-month period ending June 30, 2007, increased
34.95 percent from 150,975 in 2006 to 203,744 in 2007.
The chapter* breakdown
of BUSINESS
filings for the 3-month period ending June 30, 2007, is:
4,333 chapter 7s, 1,430 chapter 11s, 112 chapter 12s and 821 chapter
13s.
The chapter breakdown
of
size='3'>NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month
period ending June 30, 2007, is: 127,180 chapter 7s, 144 chapter 11s and
76,420 chapter 13s.
###
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 11,500 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 www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information,
visit
face='Times New Roman' color='#0000ff'
size='3'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>.
size='3'>*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.
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.
