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TOTAL BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP 33 PERCENT IN THIRD QUARTER

November 25, 2009 Alexandria, Va.— The 388,485 total U.S. bankruptcies filed during the third quarter of 2009 (July 1 – Sept. 30) represented a 33 percent increase over the 292,291 cases filed over the same period in 2008, according to data released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Total filings for the first nine months of 2009 (Jan. 1 – Sept. 30) were up 35 percent to 1,100,035, compared to the 814,496 filings during the same period in 2008. Bankruptcies are at the highest level since the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code.

“The spike in bankruptcy filings for both consumers and businesses reflects the continuing effects of today’s weak economy,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “With unemployment surpassing 10 percent and credit to businesses remaining tight, consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to the financial relief of bankruptcy.”

The 45,510 business bankruptcies recorded during the first three quarters of 2009 (Jan. 1 – Sept. 30) have eclipsed the full year 2008 (Jan. 1- Dec. 31) business filing total of 43,546. Business filings during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, totaled 15,177 filings, up 32 percent over the 11,504 business filings in 2008. Chapter 11 business filings rose to 3,060 during the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 23 percent over the 2,485 filings during the similar period in 2008. Chapter 7 business filings also increased to 10,798during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, representing a 36 percent spike over the 7,927 filings during the same period in 2008.

Consumer filings totaled 373,308 during the third quarter of 2009 (July 1-Sept. 30), representing a 33 percent increase over the 280,787 filed during the same period of 2008. Consumer chapter 7 filings during the 2009 third quarter totaled 265,721, an increase of 42 percent over the 2008 third quarter total of 187,227. Chapter 13 consumer filings also increased during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, with the 107,142filings, representing an 15 percent increase over the 93,333 filings during the same period in 2008.

The 1,402,816 total filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, were up more than 34 percent from the same period in 2008, which totaled 1,042,993. The bankruptcy filing rate per thousand U.S. residents totaled 4.52 for all chapters during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, as 3.19 Americans per thousand filed for chapter 7 while 1.28 per thousand filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy, all increases from the similar period a year ago. Nevada was the state with the highest per capita filing rate in the country, with 10.49 residents per thousand filing in all chapters, and also had the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 7 filings at 7.53. The state with the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 13 bankruptcy was Tennessee at 4.36 per thousand for the 12-month period ended Sept. 30, 2009.

Nonbusiness filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, totaled 1,344,095, an increase of 34 percent from the 1,004,342 total nonbusiness filings calculated over the same period in 2008. Business filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, totaled 58,721, up 52 percent from the 38,651 bankruptcy petitions filed in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008.

The 989, 227 total chapter 7 filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, represent a 45 percent increase from the 679,982 filings from the same period in 2008. Chapter 11 filings also increased, rising 68 percent to 14,745 in 2009 from 8,799 in 2008. Total chapter 13 filings increased 13 percent to 398,210 in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, from 353,828 in the same period last year. Chapter 12 filings also increased 47 percent from 332 in 2008 to 487.

BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, totaled 15,177, up 32 percent from the 11,504 bankruptcy business cases filed in the same period in 2008. NON-BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, increased 33 percent from 280,787 in 2008 to 373,308 in 2009.

The chapter* breakdown of BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, is: 10,798 chapter 7s, 3,060 chapter 11s, 155 chapter 12s and 1,147 chapter 13s.

The chapter breakdown of NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, is: 265,721 chapter 7s, 445 chapter 11s and 101,142 chapter 13s.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,400 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.