Total bankruptcy filings in the United States for August 2013 decreased 15 percent compared to the previous year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. August bankruptcy filings totaled 88,902, down from the 104,471 filings registered in August 2012.
Total commercial filings for August 2013 were 3,789, representing a 24 percent decrease from the 4,973 filings during the same period in 2012. Commercial chapter 11 filings totaled 590 in August, a 10 percent decrease from the 652 filed in August 2012. The 85,113 total noncommercial filings for August represented a 15 percent drop from the August 2012 noncommercial filing total of 99,498.
“The deep and sustained drop in bankruptcies reflects lowered consumer borrowing since the financial crisis, resulting in less debt on household balance sheets,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, ABI Executive Director. “Total bankruptcy filings will be just over one million new cases filed this year, the lowest figure since 2008,” he added. The August bankruptcy filings did show slight increases from July as total filings were up 1 percent from July’s total of 87,715. Noncommercial filings also increased 1 percent in August from the July total of 84,110, and commercial filings increased 5 percent from the July total of 3,605. The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy filing rate for the first eight calendar months of 2013 (Jan. 1-August 31) remained unchanged at 3.49 (total filings per 1,000 population) from the first seven months of the year. The average daily filing total in August 2013 was 2,868, a 15 percent decrease from the 3,370 total daily filings registered in August 2012.
States with the highest per capita filing rate (total filings per 1,000 population) through the first eight months of 2013 were: 1. Tennessee (6.77) 2. Georgia (5.92) 3. Alabama (5.78) 4. Utah (5.42) 5. Illinois (5.30)
ABI has partnered with Epiq Systems, Inc. in order to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers and members of the news media. Epiq Systems is a leading provider of managed technology for the global legal profession. 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 13,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information.