Bankruptcy Filings Drop 61 Percent in 12 Month Period

Washington, D.C. - In the 12 month period ending March 31, 2007, 695,575 bankruptcy cases were filed in federal courts, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Compared to filings in the 12 month period ending March 31, 2006, when bankruptcy cases totaled 1,794,795, this was a 61 percent drop in filings. The 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, included the surge in filings that occurred prior to the October 17, 2005, implementation date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). Filings for the 3-month period of January 1, 2007 March 31, 2007 were the highest of any quarter in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, totaling 193,641. This was a 66 percent increase when compared to the 116,771 filings in the 3-month period ending March 31, 2006. In addition, filings in the 12-month period ending March 2007 were higher compared to calendar year 2006 filings that totaled 617,660. Business and Non-Business Filings Business and Non-Business Filings Years Ended March 31, 2002-2007 Year Total Non-Business Business 2007 695,575 673,615 21,960 2006 1,794,795 1,759,503 35,292 2005 1,590,975 1,559,023 31,952 2004 1,654,847 1,618,062 36,785 2003 1,611,268 1,573,720 37,548 2002 1,504,806 1,464,961 39,845 The majority of bankruptcy filings are filings involving predominantly non-business debts. Non-business filings for the 12 month period ending March 31, 2007, totaled 673,615, down 62 percent from the 1,759,503 non-business filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006. Filings involving predominantly business debts totaled 21,960 in March 2007, down 38 percent from the 35,292 total business filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006. Filings by Chapter Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter Years Ending March 31, 2000-2007 Chapter Year 7 11 12 13 2007 413,294 5,199 372 276,649 2006 1,432,074 6,497 366 355,756 2005 1,141,074 7,115 189 441,838 2004 1,176,654 11,649 573 465,878 2003 1,135,436 10,722 632 464,369 2002 1,059,777 11,477 389 433,107 Chapter 7 filings fell 71 percent to 413,294, from 1,432,074 Chapter 7 filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006. Chapter 13 filings fell 22 percent, to 276,649, compared to the 355,756 Chapter 13 filings in March 2006. Chapter 11 filings also declined, falling 20 percent to 5,199 from the 6,497 Chapter 11 filings in March 2006. Chapter 12 filings rose 2 percent from 366 in March 2006 to 372 in March 2007.