Year-over-year U.S. bankruptcy filings rose 7% across all chapters for the second consecutive month in September, according to new data from Epiq’s Bankruptcy Analytics Platform. The analysis revealed that there were 33,184 total filings recorded in September 2022, up 7% from last September’s total of 30,922. Commercial Chapter 11 filings also increased, with 437 in September, a 76% increase from 249 filings in September 2021.
There were 1,994 commercial filings in September 2022, an increase of 16% from 1,721 in September 2021. The 31,190 individual filings in September also represented a 7% increase over the September 2021 total of 29,201. Subchapter V small business filings saw the largest percentage increase with 150 filings in September 2022, an increase of nearly 80% from 84 filings in September 2021.
“While year-over-year comparisons indicate that bankruptcies are trending up, all new chapter filings year-to-date are 9% lower than they were at year-end. third quarter of last year,” said Gregg Morin, vice president of business development and revenue at Epiq Bankruptcy. “While we expect economic pressures to continue to push new filing trends higher overall, we are still seeing mixed month-over-month results by individual chapters and obligor types.”
Although September saw significant year-over-year increases, 2022 year-to-date filings continue to be below 2021 levels. Total U.S. bankruptcy filings declined by 9% during the first nine months of the year, the 284,773 filings increasing from 312,647 filings in 2021. by 295,166 during the first three quarters of 2021.
Commercial bankruptcy filings in the first nine months of the year fell 9% to 15,872 from 17,481 filings in the same period in 2021. Commercial Chapter 11 filings fell 3% in during the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period a year ago, as the 2,831 filings decreased from the 2,915 filings in 2021. Conversely, the 1,079 Subchapter V filings in during the period were up approximately 8% from the 995 Subchapter V filings in the first nine months of 2021.
“The weight of inflation, rising interest rates and concerns about supply chain channels continue to impact businesses and families economically,” said Amy Quackenboss, Executive Director of ABI. “Bankruptcy offers struggling households and businesses the opportunity to rebuild their financial future.”
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