Consumer Bankruptcy Filings In October Exceed 100,000 Mark; 1st Time Since Law Amended

November 5, 2008 10:22 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Monthly consumer bankruptcy filings crossed the 100,000 mark in October, the first time since the country's bankruptcy law was amended in 2005. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, 106,266 filings were made in October.

It was only during the first year after the law was revised that personal bankruptcy filings went down. Beginning in 2006 filings started to climb up. With the worsening economic climate in the United States, October broke records by registering a 40 percent increase compared to the same month in 2007.

Given this trend, the institute said bankruptcy filings will likely go beyond the 1 million mark by year's end.

Samuel Gerdano, executive director of ABI, told USA Today, "This underscores that the underlying economic problems of consumers who are facing high debts, flat incomes and now declining home values are a very powerful force that pushes people over the edge."