Bankruptcy Filings Up 26% in 1st Quarter

The number of U.S. bankruptcy filings reached a fifth straight record in the first quarter, rising 26% above the year-earlier quarter to 335,073, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, citing figures released by federal courts. Non-business bankruptcy filings, which comprised 96% of total filings, accounted for most of the rise. The 1997 figures are expected to surpass the record set in 1996 when annual consumer bankruptcy filings reached more than 1 million for the first time. Total bankruptcy filings in the U.S. have more than doubled during the last decade. Filings under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which allows individual debtors to start over by discharging unsecured debt while retaining some property, accounted for 70% of all non-business filings during the first quarter of 1997.