Total bankruptcy filings totaled 705,452 nationwide during the first nine months of 2014 (Jan. 1-September 30), a 12 percent decrease from the 801,989 total filings during the same period a year ago, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. The 678,685 total noncommercial filings through three quarters of 2014 represented a 12 percent drop from the noncommercial filing total of 767,510 through the first three quarters of 2013.
Total commercial filings during the first nine months of the year were 26767, representing a 22 percent decrease from the 34,479 filings during the same period in 2013. Chapter 11 filings also fell during the first nine months of 2014 as the 4,099 filings represented a 21 percent decrease from the 5,183 chapter 11 filings during the first nine months of 2013.
“The continued decline in bankruptcy filings corresponds to sustained low interest rates and high costs of filing,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Total filings are on track to fall under 1 million for the first time since 2007.”
The 73,295 total bankruptcy filings for the month of September represented a 9 percent decrease compared to the 80,703 filings in September 2013. The 70,681 total noncommercial filings for September also represented a 9 percent drop from the September 2013 noncommercial filing total of 77,275. Total commercial filings for September 2014 were 2,614, representing a 24 percent decrease from the 3,428 filings during the same period in 2013. Chapter 11 filings registered a 36 percent drop as the 583 chapter 11 filings in September 2013 fell to 374 in September 2014.
The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy filing rate for the first nine calendar months of 2014 (Jan. 1-Sept. 30) decreased slightly to 3.03 (total filings per 1,000 population) from the 3.07 rate for the first eight months of the year. The average daily filing total in September 2014 was 2,443, an 18 percent decrease from the 2,965 total daily filings registered in September 2013. States with the highest per capita filing rate (total filings per 1,000 population) through the first nine months of 2014 were:
- Tennessee (6.31)
- Alabama (5.34)
- Georgia (5.29)
- Utah (4.98)
- Indiana (5.24)