June Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Increase 16 Percent over Previous Year
Total commercial chapter 11 bankruptcies for the month of June 2017 were 581, representing a 16 percent increase from the 502 commercial chapter 11 filings in June 2016, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Total commercial and consumer bankruptcies in June 2017 each registered 1 percent increases over the previous year. Total filings in June 2017 increased to 66,757 from the 66,338 total filings in June 2016. Total commercial bankruptcies increased to 3,385 filings in June 2017 from the 3,338 registered in June 2016, while noncommercial bankruptcies for June 2017 increased to 63,372 from the 63,000 filings in June 2016.
Analysis: Ill-Funded Police Pensions Put Cities in a Bind
Retirement systems for police and firefighters have just a median 71 cents for every dollar needed to cover future liabilities, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data provided by Merritt Research Services for cities of 30,000 or more. The combined shortfall in the plans, which are the responsibility of municipal governments, is more than $80 billion, nearly equal to New York City’s annual budget. Broader municipal pension plans have a median 78 cents of every dollar needed to cover future liabilities, according to data from Merritt. The 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans have 85 percent of assets needed on hand, according to Milliman Inc. data as of March 31. And yet any attempt to bring police pensions into line with today’s municipal budgets and stock-market performance runs into the reality that many officers won’t stand for cuts — and they often have the public behind them.
Puerto Rico Faces Off with Bondholders over Statehood
Puerto Rico's top elected leaders are doubling down on their pursuit of statehood, even as bondholders ask Congress and the White House to hold off until debt payments are made, The Hill reported yesterday. Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who represents some of the island's bondholders, said he supports statehood, but only after Puerto Rico's financial woes are solved. Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R), who along with Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is leading the charge for statehood, said that statehood and the debt issue are inseparable. The battle in Washington, D.C. over Puerto Rico's budget will provide Rosselló with an extra incentive to follow through on his plans for statehood. Under Puerto Rico's statehood law, Rosselló is naming a congressional delegation — two senators and five members of Congress. On Friday, he announced the first batch: former Govs. Carlos Romero Barceló and Pedro Rosselló González — Rosselló's father, Puerto Rico Democratic party President Charlie González, and former Major League Baseball player Ivan Rodriguez Torres. He'll name the remaining three in the coming days. Congress would have to pass a law to admit the island as a state, which at this point is highly unlikely.
For updated news and analysis of Puerto Rico's debt crisis, along with current docket filings in Puerto Rico's case, be sure to visit ABI's "Puerto Rico in Distress" webpage.
Participate at Next Consumer Commission Meeting on July 15 at NACTT
The ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy welcomes you to participate at its next open meeting on July 15 at the NACTT Annual Meeting in Seattle (Sheraton Seattle Hotel). The meeting will be held from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. PT and is a field hearing for the Chapter 13 Committee. Major topics for consideration by the Committee include (a) chapter 13 eligibility, (b) homeowner issues, (c) chapter 13 plans, (d) credit reporting, (e) local legal culture and (f) after-acquired property. For more information, go to consumercommission.abi.org. To request a time for a public statement or to submit a written statement, email the Commission at [email protected].
For more information on the Commission, including oral and written statements from the May 6 meeting, please click here.
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New on ABI’s Bankruptcy Blog Exchange: Delinquencies on Car Loans, Credit Cards at Highest Levels Since 2012
A new report from the American Bankers Association reinforces existing concerns about the ability of U.S. consumers to manage all of their debts, according to a recent blog post.
To read more on this blog and all others on the ABI Blog Exchange, please click here.
