It’s been two years since consumer bankruptcy filings were this low. But the share of Chapter 13 filings was higher.
In December, 118,146 Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies were filed by consumers.
But last month, that number dropped to 92,669, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.
The 12,800-member group gets its data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.
January’s total was also better than the 102,254 filings reported for the same month a year earlier.
Alexandria, Va.-based ABI said consumer filings haven’t been this low since January 2009, when they reached 88,773.
Chapter 13 activity accounted for 32 percent of January’s cases. That worked out to around 29,650 bankruptcies.
December’s Chapter 13 filings came in at approximately 35,400, while Chapter 13 bankruptcies accounted for roughly 30,700 filings in January 2010.
