Total commercial chapter 11 filings in the United States increased 77 percent in July 2015 over July of last year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc.

Commercial chapter 11 filings increased to 637 filings in July 2015 from the 359 commercial chapter 11 filings registered in July 2014. Total filings totaled 71,820 in July 2015, a decrease of 7 percent from the July 2014 total of 77,532. Consumer filings also declined 7 percent to 69,189 from the July 2014 consumer filing total of 74,635. Total commercial filings in July 2015 decreased to 2,631, representing a 9 percent decline from the 2,897 business filings recorded in July 2014.

“While commercial chapter 11 filings spiked in July, the stats show that consumers and businesses continue to steer away from the financial relief of bankruptcy,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Amid high filing costs and low interest rates, bankruptcy filings remain on track to total just over 800,000 for 2015.”

Total filings for July did represent a 3 percent increase compared to the 69,751 total filings in June 2015. Total noncommercial filings for July also represented a 3 percent increase from the June 2015 noncommercial filing total of 67,318.  July’s commercial filing total represented an 8 percent increase from the June 2015 commercial filing total of 2,433. July commercial chapter 11 filings experienced an increase of 75 percent when compared to the 365 filings registered the previous month.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate in July was 2.73 (total filings per 1,000 per population), a slight decrease from the 2.72 rate registered in the first six months of the year. Average total filings per day in July 2015 were 2,317, a 7 percent decrease from the 2,501 total daily filings in July 2014. States with the highest per capita filing rates (total filings per 1,000 population) in July 2015 were:

• Tennessee (5.73)
• Alabama (5.29)
• Georgia (5.00)
• Illinois (4.50)
• Utah (4.43)

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.