Bankruptcy Filings Down 14% From Last Year

Total bankruptcy filings in the United States decreased 14 percent in January over last year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Bankruptcy filings totaled 87,946 in January, down from the January 2011 total of 102,175. Total commercial filings for January 2012 fell 20 percent to 4,967 from 6,203 recorded in January 2011.

“The continued decline in bankruptcies reflects the effort of consumers and businesses to shore up their debt loads in order to navigate through an uncertain economy,” said American Bankruptcy Institute Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “We expect overall bankruptcy levels in 2012 to continue to trend downward until consumers increase household spending.”

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate for January was 3.41 (total filings per 1,000 per population), and the average total filings per day in January 2012 registered 4,397, a 14 percent decrease from the 5,109 total filings in January 2011.

States with the highest per capita filing rate (total filings per 1,000 population) during January 2012 were:

1. Tennessee (6.38)
2. Nevada (6.22)
3. Georgia (5.44)
4. Delaware (5.27)
5. California (5.13)

Epiq Solution’s data also showed that the 87,946 total filings recorded in January 2012 represented a 9 percent decrease from the 96,264 filings in December 2011. The total January 2012 commercial filings dropped 10 percent from the 5,496 filings in December 2011.

Filings up in some areas

However, chapter 11 filings in the busiest bankruptcy jurisdictions are up significantly over last year, in creasing by 40 percent in the District of Delaware and by 25 percent in the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.).

Two major chapter 11 cases – Eastman Kodak and Ener1, Inc. – were filed in the S.D.N.Y. in January, while three major cases – Evergreen Energy Inc., Buffets Restaurants Holdings and Trident Microsystems, Inc. – were filed in Delaware.