Epiq released its March 2021 bankruptcy filing statistics from its AACER bankruptcy information services business. March new filings spiked to 43,425 across all chapters. This was driven by 41,150 new non-commercial consumer filings, a 41% month over month increase and the largest single month of new filing activity since the pandemic started in March 2020.

New Consumer Bankruptcy Filings up 41% over February; Q1-21 Still Lagging

NEW YORK – APRIL 5, 2021 – Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal services industry and corporations, released its March 2021 bankruptcy filing statistics from its AACER bankruptcy information services business. March new filings spiked to 43,425 across all chapters. This was driven by 41,150 new non-commercial consumer filings, a 41% month over month increase and the largest single month of new filing activity since the pandemic started in March 2020. Commercial filings across all chapters also increased over February’s historic low with a total of 2,275 new filings, a 16% increase month over month.

“The decline in commercial chapter 11 filings is a direct reflection of both lenders and owners working with companies to protect their investments outside of a bankruptcy process,” said Deirdre O’Connor, senior managing director of corporate restructuring at Epiq.

“Bankruptcy filings in March saw large increases over February,” said Chris Kruse, senior vice president of Epiq AACER. “The vaccination roll-out and corresponding economic recovery is gaining momentum that will accelerate the return to pre-pandemic new bankruptcy filings levels. We approach the second quarter of 2021 cautiously anticipating the bankruptcy backlog that emerged during the pandemic may be peaking.”

There were 106,958 total new bankruptcy filings across all chapters for the first quarter of 2021, down from 177,245 in the same period in 2020. The two largest increases in March were in non-commercial consumer filings with 30,802 new Chapter 7 cases and 10,265 new Chapter 13 cases, increases of 9,939 and 1,945 over February 2021, respectively. Commercial Chapter 11 filings were down 9% over February with 384 new filings in March.

About Epiq AACER
Epiq AACER is your partner for bankruptcy information and compliance. Our AACER bankruptcy information services platform is built with superior data, technology, and expertise to create insight and mitigate risk for businesses impacted by bankruptcies. We offer free bankruptcy statistics and monthly email updates for both commercial and non-commercial consumer bankruptcy filings for Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 cases. You may register for these free resources on our Bankruptcy Statistics and Trends page.

About Epiq
Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal services industry and corporations, 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.

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Rebekah Paul
Epiq
+1 310 279 3482
rebekah.paul@epiqglobal.com