More U.S. borrowers filed bankruptcy last month than at any time since the Bankruptcy Code was revised.
Bankruptcy filings by U.S. consumers were 149,268 last month, the American Bankruptcy Institute reported Friday.
Bankruptcies shot up from 111,693 during February — when filings increased 9 percent from January. Last month’s bankruptcies were also higher than 121,413 in March 2009.
March’s activity was “the highest monthly consumer filing total since Congress overhauled the Bankruptcy Code in 2005,” ABI stated.
Year-to-date March 31, bankruptcy filings totaled 363,215, according to the report — which was derived from National Bankruptcy Research Center data.
One-quarter of last month’s consumer filings were for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, representing around 37,300 cases. February’s Chapter 13 filings came in around 30,200.
