Contact: John Hartgen
703-894-5935
jhartgen@abiworld.org
TOTAL U.S. BANKRUPTCIES IN FIRST HALF OF 2009 UP 36
PERCENT OVER FIRST HALF OF 2008; CHAPTER 11 BUSINESS FILINGS INCREASE
113 PERCENT
August 13, 2009, Alexandria, Va.— The total number of
U.S. bankruptcies filed during the first six months of 2009 increased 36
percent over the same six month period in 2008, according to data
released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Total
filings reached 711,550 during the first half of the calendar year of
2009 (January 1-June 30), compared to 522,205 cases filed over the same
period in 2008.
“The increase in filings through the first half of this year is
a product of continued financial stresses weighing on both consumers and
businesses,” said ABI Executive Director
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Samuel J. Gerdano. “In
this challenging economic environment, we expect bankruptcies to surge
past 1.4 million by year end.”
Business filings for the six-month period ending June 30, 2009,
totaled 30,333, representing a 64 percent increase over the first-half
2008 total of 18,456. Chapter 11 business reorganizations increased 113
percent to 7,396 during the first half of 2009 from 3,470 in the same
period of 2008. Chapter 7 business liquidations increased to 20,375 in
the first half of 2009, a 57 percent increase over the 13,002 business
chapter 7 filings during the same period in 2008.
Filings by individuals or households with consumer debt increased 35
percent to 681,217 for the six-month period ending June 30, 2009, from
the 2008 first-half total of 503,749. The overall percentage of
consumers filing for chapter 13 protection fell slightly from 34 percent
during the first half of 2008 (January 1-June 30) to 28 percent over the
same period in 2009. Conversely, the first-half 2009 percentage of
chapter 7 consumer filers increased to 72 percent from the 66 percent
recorded in the first half of 2008.
The 381,073 total filings for the second calendar quarter 2009 (April
1-June 30) represented a 38 percent increase from the second quarter
2008 filing total of 276,510. Business filings in the second quarter of
2009 increased 64 percent to 16,014 over the 9,743 business filings in
the second quarter 2008. The second quarter 2009 business filings were
the highest total since the second quarter of 1993 when business filings
reached 16,424. Consumer filings increased 37 percent from 266,767
recorded in the second quarter of 2008 to 365,059 filings in the second
quarter 2009.
The 1,306,315 total filings for the 12-month period ending June 30,
2009, represented a 35 percent increase from the same period in 2008,
which totaled 967,831. The bankruptcy filing rate per thousand U.S.
residents totaled 4.22 for all chapters during the 12-month period
ending June 30, 2009, as 2.93 Americans per thousand filed for chapter 7
while 1.24 per thousand filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Nevada was the state with the highest per capita filing rate in the
country with 9.33 residents per thousand filing in all chapters, and
also had the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 7 filings at
6.67. The state with the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 13
bankruptcy was Tennessee at 4.35 per thousand for the 12-month period
ended June 30, 2009.
Nonbusiness filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009,
were up to 1,251,294, a 34 percent increase from the 934,009 total
nonbusiness filings over the same period in 2008. Business filings for
the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009, totaled 55,021, up 63 percent
from the 33,822 bankruptcy petitions filed in the 12-month period ending
June 30, 2008.
The 907,603 total chapter 7
filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009, represent a 47
percent increase from the 615,748 filings from the same period in 2008.
Total chapter 11 filings increased 91 percent to 13,951 in the 12-month
period ending June 30, 2009 from 7,293 during the same period in 2008.
Total chapter 13 filings also increased 12 percent to 384,187 in the
12-month period ending June 30, 2009, from 344,421 during the same
period last year. Chapter 12 filings increased 34 percent from 314 in
the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008 to 422 in 2009.
Chapter breakdowns of
size='3'>BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending June
30, 2009: 10,675 chapter 7s; 3,965 chapter 11s; 139 chapter 12s;
and 1,175 chapter 13s.
Chapter breakdown of
size='3'>NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending
June 30, 2009: 265,368 chapter 7s; 383 chapter 11s; and 99,308
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
12,000 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'>
color='#0000ff'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
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.
