December 2021 Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Decline

According to the latest AIS Insight report, December bankruptcies totaled 27,946, reflecting a slight decline from the previous month (Figure 1). This is the lowest total filings since January 2006.

December 2021 marks two full years of bankruptcy data during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the AIS Insight report total filings across all chapters for the year of 2021 totaled 401,398. When compared to 2020, it was noted that total bankruptcies were down 24.13% (Figure 1).

Although we continue to see the majority of bankruptcy filings decline, we did observe an increase in Chapter 11 filings for the month of November 2021 (Figure 1).

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Our analysis of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies reveals that numbers continue to stay below historical averages (Figure 4). Chapter 7 filings totaled 17,187, marking a 6.55% decrease from November 2021 and a 28.71% decrease when compared to December 2020 (Figure 4). This is now the tenth consecutive month that we’ve observed declining Chapter 7 filings. Chapter 13 filings totaled 10,374, marking a 2.78% decrease from November 2021 and a 6.89% increase from December 2020 (Figure 4).

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For the month of December 2021, Chapter 11 filings increased 61% from November 2021 totaling 359 (Figure 7). Chapter 11, Subchapter V filings decreased 15.23% from November 2021 totaling 89 (Figure 7).

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The highest percentage of bankruptcies for December 2021 came from the South (East) (29%), followed by North Central (East) (19%), South (West) (16%), Pacific (13%), Northeast (11%), North Central (West) (6%) and Mountain (6%) regions of the country (Figure 10).

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To download the December Insight Report, click here.