First Quarter Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Fall 6 Percent from 2010

Consumer bankruptcies for the first quarter of 2011 decreased 6 percent nationwide from the same time period in 2010, according to ABI, relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center NBKRC. The data showed that the overall consumer filing total for the first three months of 2011 (Jan. 1-March 31) reached 340,012, down from the 363,215 consumer filings recorded for the first quarter of 2010. A month-by-month look at the data showed that the overall consumer filing total for March reached 144,657, up from the 102,686 consumer filings recorded in February 2011. Though an increase from the previous month, the March 2011 consumer bankruptcy total represents a 3 percent decrease from the 149,268 filings recorded in March 2010. Chapter 13 filings constituted 26 percent of all consumer cases in March, a slight decrease from February.