Consumer bankruptcies were down for the fifth consecutive month and have tumbled from a year ago. Even payment-plan bankruptcies, which have increased twice during the past five months, were lower in November.
Last month’s bankruptcy filings by U.S. consumers totaled 100,980. The filings were made under Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The American Bankruptcy Institute, which reported the figures, indicated that filings were down from 106,255 in October. The decline was more stark when compared to November 2010, when bankruptcies totaled 114,587.
Fewer filings have been reported for each month since June, when 119,768 bankruptcies were filed.
The ABI obtains its data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.
During the first 11 months of 2011, filings amounted to 1,251,957, based on previously reported data.
The ABI said that 31 percent of November’s filings were Chapter 13 bankruptcies. That worked out to around 31,300 Chapter 13 filings, fewer than approximately 33,470 in October. Payment plans filed have been up two times since June.
ABI members include attorneys, lenders and judges as well as professors, bankers and other bankruptcy specialists.
