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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(703) 739-0800
Third Quarter
Bankruptcy Filings Drop Another 6.5%
Personal and Business Filings
Decline Across the Country
December
6, 1999, Alexandria, Va.- The total
number of bankruptcies filed between July 1, 1999 and September 30, 1999 dropped from
345,956 to 323,550, a 6.5 percent drop, according to data released by the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts.
The number of
bankruptcies filed during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 1999 totaled 1,354,376, a
decrease of 5.7 percent from the previous 12-month period, when filings totaled 1,436,964.
The statistics are
released after the Senate left Washington for the end of the first session of the 106th
Congress. For two weeks in November, the
Senate vigorously debated S. 625, the “Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999,” a bill
designed to make it more difficult for debtors to fully discharge debts. The Senate failed
to complete action before adjournment. In May, the House passed a similar bill (H.R. 833).
“While
bankruptcy filings are still quite high in historical terms, the sustained strong economy
and low interest rate have helped many households reduce debt burdens and the need to seek
bankruptcy protection from creditors,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, Executive Director of
the ABI.
Personal bankruptcies
account for 97.14 percent of the total new cases filed in the last 12-months. These cases decreased to 1,315,751, in the
12-month period ending Sept. 30, 1999, down 5.3 percent
when compared to the same 12-month period in 1998. Personal
filings decreased during the third quarter to 314,564 a 6.2 percent drop from the second
quarter of 1999.
The chapter*
breakdown of personal filings for the 12-month period ending September 30, 1999 is: 935,792 chapter 7s; 744 chapter 11s and 379,215
chapter 13s. Chapter 7 bankruptcies represent 71.1
percent of all personal bankruptcies during the 12-month
period.
The chapter breakdown
of personal filings for the third quarter is: 218,145
chapter 7s; 203 chapter 11s and 96,216 chapter 13s. Chapter 7 bankruptcies
represent 69 percent of all personal bankruptcies during the three-month
period, dropping from 97 percent last quarter.
Business bankruptcies
continued their decline in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 1999, consistent with the
booming national economy, dropping 18 percent over the last year to 38,625. Business filings decreased during the third
quarter by 13.4 percent to 8,986.
The chapter breakdown
of business filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 1999 is: 23,499 chapter 7s; 8,238 chapter
11s; 811 chapter 12s and 6,047 chapter 13s.
The chapter breakdown
of business filings for the third quarter is: 5,388
chapter 7s; 2,080 chapter 11s; 199 chapter 12s and
1,314 chapter 13s.
Over the past three
months, personal filings increased in 17 districts and decreased in 77 districts.
Districts with the Highest Percentage Decrease
in Filings (Business and Personal)
From October 1, 1998 to September 30, 1999
1. Northern
District of California 15.4%
2. District of Minnesota
13.6%
3. District of New Hampshire 12.3%
4.
Southern District of California 12%
5. Northern District of Texas 11.5%
Districts with the Highest Percentage Increase
in Filings (Business and Personal)
From October 1, 1998 to September 30, 1999
1. District of Delaware
46.7%
2. District of Hawaii 3.7%
3.
District of Alaska 3.2%
4. Eastern District of Washington 3%
5. District
of Oregon 2.9%
For statistics on a
particular region, historical trends or to talk to a bankruptcy professional in your area,
contact ABI Public Affairs Coordinator Sherri Pascale at (703) 739-0800.. Statistics can also be retrieved online at http://www.abiworld.org/stats/newstatsfront.html.
ABI is the largest
multi-disciplinary, non-partisan organization dedicated to research and education on
matters of insolvency. ABI is not an advocacy group. Instead, ABI was founded in 1982 to
provide Congress, its members, journalists and the public-at-large with an unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. ABI’s membership includes nearly 7,000 attorneys,
bankers, judges, lenders, professors, turnaround specialists, accountants and other
bankruptcy professionals providing a forum of the exchange of ideas and information. For
additional information on ABI visit ABI World at http://www.abiworld.org.
Definitions
from Bankruptcy Overview: Issues, Law and
Policy, by the American Bankruptcy Institute
Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code is available to both
individual and business debtors. Its purpose
is to achieve a fair distribution to creditors of whatever non-exempt property the debtor
has to give the individual debtor a fresh start through the discharge in bankruptcy.
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for both
consumer and business debtors. Its purpose is
to rehabilitate a business as a going concern or recognize an individual’s finances
through a court-approved reorganization plan.
Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy code is designed to give
special debt relief to a family farmer with regular income from farming.
Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an
individual with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific amounts, typically used
to budget some of the debtor’s future earnings under a plan through which creditors
are paid in whole or in part.
####
Web posted and Copyright © December 6, 1999, American Bankruptcy
Institute.
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