Commercial Filings Fall 16 Percent

NEW YORK – May 4, 2022 — Total U.S. bankruptcy filings in April 2022 decreased 21 percent from the previous year, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. Bankruptcy filings totaled 32,508 in April 2022, down from the April 2021 total of 40,931. Noncommercial bankruptcy filings totaled 30,747 in April 2022, also registering a 21 percent decrease from the April 2021 noncommercial total of 38,826. Commercial filings decreased 16 percent in April 2022, as the 1,761 filings were down from the 2,105 commercial filings registered in April 2021. There were 249 commercial chapter 11 filings registered in April 2022, a decline of 15 percent from the 290 filings in April 2021. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, decreased 26 percent to 83 in April 2022 from 112 in April 2021.

“New bankruptcy filing volumes continue to decline as the country emerges from the global pandemic,” says Chris Kruse, senior vice president of Epiq Bankruptcy Technology. “The seasonality we see in March each year also occurred in 2022, and the April decline was expected.”

April’s total bankruptcy filings represented a 10 percent decrease when compared to the 36,059 total filings recorded the previous month. Total noncommercial filings for April also represented a 10 percent decrease from the March 2022 noncommercial filing total of 34,234. The commercial filing total represented a four percent decrease from the March 2022 commercial filing total of 1,825. Commercial chapter 11 filings decreased 15 percent from the 292 filings in March 2022. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 declined 40 percent from the 138 filed in March 2022.

“Legislation that passed recently in the Senate and is currently being considered in the House would expand the debt-eligibility limits for small businesses and individuals looking to reorganize their finances,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “ABI appreciates the work by Congress to create greater access and a more efficient process for small businesses and families to achieve a financial fresh start.”

The decline of subchapter V elections reflects the return of the debt-eligibility limit to the original $2,725,625 threshold from the expanded amount of $7.5 million first established under the CARES Act of 2020. Legislation was passed in the Senate to restore the eligibility limit back to $7.5 million and cover any subchapter V cases that were pending at the time of the March 27 sunset. Consistent with the recommendations of ABI’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy, the substitute also continues to push for the debt limit for individual chapter 13 filings to be increased to $2.75 million and remove the distinction between secured and unsecured debt for that calculation. Both of the expanded eligibility limits for small business subchapter Vs and consumer chapter 13s would sunset after two years.

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ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq Bankruptcy is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Epiq’s new Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.

About Epiq
Epiq Bankruptcy is a division of Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal services industry and corporations that takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at https://www.epiqglobal.com.

About ABI
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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Press Contacts:
Angela Hoidas
Epiq
(678) 956-8728
angela.hoidas@epiqglobal.com

John Hartgen
ABI
(703) 894-5935
jhartgen@abi.org