Total bankruptcy filings totaled 921,219 nationwide during the first nine months of 2012 (Jan. 1 to Sept. 30), a 14% decrease from the 1,073,021 total filings during the same period a year ago, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc.

The 876,469 total non-commercial filings through three quarters of 2012 represented a 14% drop from the noncommercial filing total of 1,015,408 through the first three quarters of 2011. Total commercial filings during the first nine months of the year were 44,750, representing a 22% decrease from the 57,613 filings during the same period in 2011. Chapter 11 filings also fell during the first nine months of 2012 as the 5,889 filings represented an 11% decrease from the 6,627 Chapter 11 filings during the first nine months of 2011.

“We remain on pace for the lowest total bankruptcies since before the financial crisis in 2008,” said ABI executive director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Sustained low interest rates and weak consumer spending will continue to slow bankruptcies through the end of 2012.”

The 87,492 total bankruptcy filings for the month of September represented a 21% decrease compared to the 110,410 filings in September 2011. The 83,471 total noncommercial filings for September represented a 20% drop from the September 2011 non-commercial filing total of 104,638. Total commercial filings for September 2012 were 4,021, representing a 30% decrease from the 5,772 filings during the same period in 2011. Chapter 11 filings registered a 25% drop as the 693 Chapter 11 filings in September 2011 fell to 523 in September 2012.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate for the first nine calendar months of 2012 (Jan. 1-September 30) decreased to 3.97 (total filings per 1,000 per population) from the 4.04 rate for the first eight months of the year, and the average total filings per day in September 2012 was 2,916, a 21% decrease from the 3,680 total daily filings in September 2011.

ABI is a multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency.

Epiq Systems is a provider of managed technology for the global legal profession.