For the second month in a row, fewer U.S. consumers resorted to U.S. Bankruptcy Courts to absolve themselves of debt.
Total bankruptcy filings, including commercial and non-commercial filings, amounted to 63,042 during the month of October.
Filings fell from an upwardly revised 64,614 the prior month and also lower than an upwardly revised 70,254 a year prior.
The 12,000-member American Bankruptcy Institute released the latest data Thursday.
Despite the month-over-month and year-over-year improvements, ABI
Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano noted in the report that year-to-date commercial activity has worsened.
“With financial distress continuing in energy and retail, 2016 business bankruptcies have already surpassed the total registered last year,” Gerdano stated.
Last month’s per-capita rate was 2.53 total bankruptcy filings per thousand in U.S. population.
October’s per-capita rate was highest in Tennessee: 5.66. Alabama’s 5.53 was next, then Georgia’s 4.81, Illinois’ 4.44 and Utah’s 4.16.
Of interest to the mortgage industry are consumer bankruptcy filings, which came to 60,019 as of the most-recent month.
Non-commercial filings fell from the
downwardly revised 61,503 in September and the upwardly revised 67,763 in October 2015.
During the 10 months ended Oct. 31, 2016, there have been
624,242 non-commercial bankruptcy filings, according to historical data previously reported by ABI.
