by Calculated Risk on 2/04/2020 04:33:00 PM

From the U.S. Courts: Bankruptcy Filings Increase Slightly

Bankruptcy filings increased slightly for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2019, compared with cases for the year ending Dec. 31, 2018, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. It was the second straight quarter that bankruptcy filings rose, after annual declines lasting nearly a decade.

Annual bankruptcy filings totaled 774,940, compared with 773,418 cases in December 2018. That is an increase of 0.2 percent.

The level of filings is still 51 percent below the peak reached in 2010, during the aftermath of the Great Recession, 2007-2009. A national wave of bankruptcies that began in 2008 reached a peak in the year ending September 2010, when nearly 1.6 million bankruptcy cases were filed.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the business and non-business bankruptcy filings by calendar year since 2001.

The sharp decline in 2006 was due to the so-called "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005". (a good example of Orwellian named legislation since this was more a "Lender Protection Act").

This was the first increase in filings since 2010, but the increase was very small.   Bankruptcy filings have been at about the same level for the last four years.