A jump in chapter 13 filings fueled a monthly increase in consumer bankruptcies.
Statistics reported by the American Bankruptcy Institute indicate 130,329 consumer bankruptcies were filed during September. The institute relies on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.
Filings inched up from 127,028 in August. An even bigger increase was measured from September 2009, when 124,790 bankruptcies were filed.
Chapter 13 bankruptcies, where a payment plan is established by the bankruptcy court, accounted for 30 percent of September filings — or around 39,100 of last month’s activity. A month earlier, approximately 36,800 chapter 13 bankruptcies were filed.
U.S. consumers have filed 1,165,172 bankruptcies, including chapter 7 and chapter 13 filings, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30.
ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano predicted nearly 1.6 million new bankruptcy filings for all of 2010.
