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Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Set Records
The news out of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts just doesn't seem to be getting any better. Statistics just released from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts indicate that non-business (personal) bankruptcies set a new 12-month record for the year ending June 30, 2003 with 1,613,097 petitions filed. Filings were up 10% from the 12-month period ending one year earlier. Chapter 7 bankruptcies (in which individuals are allowed to keep certain exempt property while any remaining assets are sold to creditors) continued to make up 71% of all filings. The chart below displays the year-over-year rate of change in personal bankruptcy filings, by quarter. The trend is most discouraging for unsecured lenders. Personal bankruptcies escalated sharply in late 2000-early 2001 as the economy turned down (and bankruptcy reform looked like it would emerge from Congress), but filings plateaued in the second quarter of 2002. However, by the end of the summer of 2002, filings headed upward (as did unemployment) and records have been set every quarter since.
There is little sign of improvement in the near term. Out of 91 judicial districts in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, all but 4 experienced an increase in filing volume during the 12 months ending June 30 2003. The table below provides detailed statistics on the number of filings and growth rates by judicial district. Of the more heavily populated states, the areas experiencing the largest increases in filings include the Eastern District of Michigan (up 24.2%), Northern District of Ohio (up 21.1%), Wisconsin (up 20.7% statewide) Missouri (up 18.7%) statewide) , and the Southern District of Texas (up 25.1%).
On a slightly more positive note, as of the week ending August 23, filings thus far for 2003 were up "only" 8.8%. This isn't much improvement over the 10 percent increase for the 12 months ending June 30, but does suggest that the rate of increase is slowing a bit. These "up to the minute" statistics are compiled directly from courthouse filings by Lundquist Consulting (Burlingame, CA) and are available at the National Bankruptcy Research Center website which the company maintains at www.NBKRC.com.
| Personal Bankruptcies By State And Judicial District For The 12-Month Period Ending June 30, 2003 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings as of 6/30/2003 |
% Change in Total 6/30/2002-6/30/2003 |
% Chapter 7 as of 6/30/2003 | |
| Total | 1,613,097 | 10.0% | 71.0% |
| Alabama | 41,639 | 6.3% | 47.7% |
| Middle | 8,989 | 7.9% | 49.2% |
| North | 25,324 | 6.2% | 48.8% |
| South | 7,326 | 4.5% | 41.9% |
| Alaska | 1,432 | 10.1% | 92.3% |
| Arizona | 30,937 | 16.4% | 80.3% |
| Arkansas | 24,049 | 11.7% | 59.3% |
| East | 15,437 | 11.5% | 53.9% |
| West | 8,612 | 12.1% | 69.0% |
| California | 143,780 | 0.5% | 82.9% |
| Central | 79,415 | -3.1% | 85.2% |
| East | 30,800 | 3.6% | 85.2% |
| North | 21,270 | 13.9% | 71.7% |
| South | 12,295 | -3.1% | 81.9% |
| Colorado | 23,720 | 26.9% | 89.3% |
| Connecticut | 11,999 | 8.8% | 83.4% |
| District of Columbia | 2,436 | 1.8% | 72.2% |
| Delaware | 3,365 | 16.6% | 61.0% |
| Florida | 93,247 | 8.3% | 71.7% |
| Middle | 54,276 | 10.3% | 71.9% |
| North | 6,880 | 12.2% | 80.1% |
| South | 32,091 | 4.3% | 69.7% |
| Georgia | 78,654 | 10.2% | 44.3% |
| Middle | 18,408 | 7.6% | 45.5% |
| North | 44,466 | 12.3% | 49.8% |
| South | 15,780 | 7.6% | 27.6% |
| Hawaii | 4,068 | -13.1% | 88.9% |
| Idaho | 9,090 | 11.0% | 86.7% |
| Illinois | 85,781 | 13.1% | 74.7% |
| Central | 16,299 | 11.3% | 86.1% |
| North | 60,047 | 13.8% | 71.9% |
| South | 9,435 | 11.9% | 72.8% |
| Indiana | 54,648 | 9.5% | 80.3% |
| North | 21,121 | 7.5% | 84.1% |
| South | 33,527 | 10.7% | 77.9% |
| Iowa | 12,020 | 10.7% | 94.9% |
| North | 4,730 | 16.1% | 96.2% |
| South | 7,290 | 7.4% | 94.0% |
| Kansas | 15,715 | 13.9% | 80.9% |
| Kentucky | 28,274 | 9.3% | 82.5% |
| East | 12,636 | 11.5% | 86.7% |
| West | 15,638 | 7.5% | 79.2% |
| Louisiana | 27,896 | 8.2% | 62.1% |
| East | 9,948 | 6.5% | 68.1% |
| Middle | 3,802 | 7.9% | 72.5% |
| West | 14,146 | 9.6% | 55.0% |
| Maine | 4,501 | 6.2% | 92.2% |
| Maryland | 34,889 | 3.0% | 66.3% |
| Massachusetts | 17,591 | 7.0% | 86.0% |
| Michigan | 60,057 | 21.5% | 70.2% |
| East | 43,671 | 24.2% | 67.6% |
| West | 16,386 | 14.9% | 77.0% |
| Minnesota | 19,079 | 10.5% | 83.6% |
| Mississippi | 22,665 | 4.5% | 66.7% |
| North | 8,295 | 5.3% | 68.6% |
| South | 14,370 | 4.0% | 65.6% |
| Missouri | 36,885 | 18.7% | 73.4% |
| East | 19,666 | 17.8% | 67.0% |
| West | 17,219 | 19.8% | 80.7% |
| Montana | 4,149 | 6.0% | 89.5% |
| Nebraska | 8,055 | 12.6% | 77.8% |
| Nevada | 20,221 | 10.9% | 75.4% |
| New Hampshire | 4,125 | 18.1% | 90.6% |
| New Jersey | 41,268 | 3.7% | 64.2% |
| New Mexico | 9,248 | 15.3% | 91.2% |
| New York | 72,744 | 11.2% | 79.6% |
| East | 25,877 | 7.3% | 77.3% |
| North | 16,769 | 10.5% | 79.7% |
| South | 16,011 | 17.5% | 87.2% |
| West | 14,087 | 12.5% | 75.1% |
| North Carolina | 38,098 | 11.1% | 49.1% |
| East | 15,631 | 9.7% | 51.4% |
| Middle | 12,328 | 12.6% | 43.4% |
| West | 10,139 | 11.4% | 52.3% |
| North Dakota | 2,125 | 10.1% | 96.1% |
| Ohio | 83,932 | 17.3% | 79.4% |
| North | 45,050 | 21.1% | 82.3% |
| South | 38,882 | 13.2% | 75.9% |
| Oklahoma | 25,421 | 12.4% | 89.7% |
| East | 5,026 | 20.6% | 92.4% |
| North | 6,942 | 22.3% | 91.7% |
| West | 13,453 | 5.3% | 87.6% |
| Oregon | 23,884 | 8.7% | 88.4% |
| Pennsylvania | 56,718 | 12.3% | 68.9% |
| East | 25,578 | 8.0% | 55.2% |
| Middle | 13,145 | 16.6% | 76.4% |
| West | 17,995 | 15.8% | 82.9% |
| Rhode Island | 4,751 | 1.9% | 93.0% |
| South Carolina | 15,777 | 5.4% | 43.2% |
| South Dakota | 2,679 | 5.5% | 94.3% |
| Tennessee | 65,183 | 7.4% | 48.5% |
| East | 20,091 | 6.2% | 62.5% |
| Middle | 16,275 | 11.7% | 62.5% |
| West | 28,817 | 6.0% | 30.7% |
| Texas | 85,299 | 15.4% | 52.4% |
| East | 12,744 | 11.5% | 55.9% |
| North | 29,208 | 11.6% | 48.9% |
| South | 23,850 | 25.1% | 51.9% |
| West | 19,497 | 12.9% | 56.1% |
| Utah | 22,246 | 10.4% | 67.9% |
| Vermont | 1,824 | 13.5% | 88.7% |
| Virginia | 43,099 | 5.3% | 73.1% |
| East | 30,620 | 4.9% | 68.8% |
| West | 12,479 | 6.2% | 83.6% |
| Washington | 39,975 | 9.0% | 80.1% |
| East | 10,404 | 8.9% | 76.3% |
| West | 29,571 | 9.1% | 81.5% |
| West Virginia | 10,668 | 13.0% | 95.0% |
| North | 4,539 | 16.6% | 94.0% |
| South | 6,129 | 10.5% | 95.8% |
| Wisconsin | 26,957 | 20.7% | 83.6% |
| East | 18,338 | 20.9% | 81.3% |
| West | 8,619 | 20.3% | 88.4% |
| Wyoming | 2,414 | 9.2% | 93.0% |
| GUAM | 327 | -8.1% | 86.2% |
| NMI | 17 | -15.0% | 76.5% |
| Puerto Rico | 13,424 | -0.5% | 28.7% |
| Virgin Islands | 52 | 15.6% | 65.4% |
| Circuit | |||
| 1st | 44,392 | 4.9% | 70.5% |
| 2nd | 86,567 | 10.9% | 80.3% |
| 3rd | 101,403 | 8.8% | 66.7% |
| 4th | 142,531 | 6.8% | 63.3% |
| 5th | 135,860 | 11.9% | 56.8% |
| 6th | 237,446 | 14.4% | 68.9% |
| 7th | 167,386 | 13.0% | 77.9% |
| 8th | 104,892 | 13.6% | 75.8% |
| 9th | 277,880 | 4.9% | 82.5% |
| 10th | 98,764 | 15.5% | 83.5% |
| 11th | 213,540 | 8.6% | 56.9% |
| States and territories in each circuit: | |||
| 1st: ME, MA, NH, RI, PR | |||
| 2nd: CT, NY, VT | |||
| 3rd: DE, NJ, PA, VI | |||
| 4th: MD, NC, SC, VA, WV | |||
| 5th: LA, MS, TX | |||
| 6th: KY, MI, OH, TN | |||
| 7th: IL, IN, WI | |||
| 8th: AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD | |||
| 9th: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, GUAM, NMI | |||
| 10th: CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WY | |||
| 11th: AL, FL, GA | |||
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