by Calculated Risk on 10/04/2011 06:50:00 PM

From the American Bankruptcy Institute: Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Down 10 Percent Through Nine Months of 2011

U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 1,044,722 nationwide during the first nine months of 2011 (Jan. 1-Sept. 30), a 10 percent decrease from the 1,165,172 total consumer filings during the same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). September consumer bankruptcies decreased 17 percent nationwide from September 2010 as the data showed that the overall consumer filing total for September reached 108,517 down from the 130,329 consumer filings recorded in September 2010.

“The trend of declining filings has been consistent with consumers continuing to reign in their spending, household debt, and an overall pull back in consumer credit,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Total consumer filings for 2011 will be less than 2010.”

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

This graph shows the non-business bankruptcy filings by quarter using monthly data from the ABI and previous quarterly data from USCourts.gov.

Note: The spike in 2005 was due to the so-called "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005".

It is possible that consumer bankruptcy filings peaked in 2010, but filings will probably stay elevated for several years.