Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filings Up 28% in August

According to the latest AIS Insight Report, August bankruptcies totaled to 39,349 reflecting a 40.8% drop from the 66,492 bankruptcies filed in August 2019 (Figure 1). Chapter 11 filings remain well above the 2019 rate, up 28.16% as compared to the same month last year. 

Our month-over-month analysis indicated that bankruptcy filings declined by 8.14 %. This decline has broken the trend of bankruptcies that has continued to rise over the previous two months (Figure 1). Over the past five months, we’ve commented on the overall drastic decline in Chapter 13 filings. After a slight uptick last month, Chapter 13 bankruptcies decreased slightly in August, still 61% lower as compared to the same month last year (Figure 1). However, Chapter 13 bankruptcies as a percentage of overall filings continues to show a steady rise (Figure 3).

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August yielded a decrease in Chapter 11 bankruptcies. Yet, we saw a slight increase in Chapter 11, Subchapter V bankruptcies (Figure 6). Chapter 11 filings still remain well above historical averages (Figure 4 & 5). In fact, year to date numbers show that Chapter 11 bankruptcies are up 28.16% from 2019 (Figure 4).

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The highest percentage of bankruptcies for August 2020 came from the South (East) (27%) followed by North Central (East) (20%), Pacific (15%), South (West) (14%), Northeast (11%), Mountain (7%) and North Central (West) (6%) regions of the country (Figure 7).

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Overall, data confirms that 2020 continues to be an unusual year. A five-year analysis of bankruptcy filings reveals a major trend deviation. However, experts still believe an uptick in filings is likely to occur in the first half of 2021. We will continue to monitor the data and provide critical insights. 

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AIS Insight is a proprietary report created by AIS using data derived solely from information obtained from the Federal Bankruptcy Court System and the latest in bankruptcy analytical tools.

To download the full August Insight Report, click here.