Total commercial Chapter 11 filings were down 25% as February 2015’s commercial Chapter 11 filings decreased to 363 from February 2014’s 484 filings, according to data provided by Epiq Systems. Total U.S. bankruptcy filings decreased 13% in February from the same period last year. Bankruptcy filings totaled 65,002 in February 2015, down from the February 2014 total of 72,267. Consumer filings declined 10% in February 2015 to 62,740 from the February 2014 consumer filing total of 69,403. In addition, total commercial filings in February 2015 decreased to 2,262, representing a 21% decline from the 2,864 business filings recorded in February 2014.

“Sustained low interests rates and high costs to file continue to suppress the number of consumers and businesses seeking the financial fresh start of bankruptcy,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “The year-over-year filing totals have now declined for over four years.”

Total bankruptcy filings for the month of February 2015 increased 10% compared to the 59,050 total filings registered in January 2015. Total noncommercial filings for February, 62,740, also represented an 11% increase from the January 2015 noncommercial filing total of 56,586. The February 2015 commercial filing total of 2,262 represented an 8 percent decrease from the January 2015 commercial filing total of 2,464. February 2015’s 363 commercial chapter 11 filings represented a 30% drop from the 519 filings recorded the previous month.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate in February 2015 was 2.39 (total filings per 1,000 per population), an increase from January 2015’s rate of 2.28. Average total filings per day in February were 2,322, a 10 percent decrease from the 2,581 total daily filings recorded in February 2014. States with the highest per capita filing rate (total filings per 1,000 population) in February 2015 were

1. Tennessee (5.17)
2. Alabama (4.83)
3. Georgia (4.66)
4. Illinois (4.22)
5. Mississippi (3.69)

ABI partners with Epiq Systems to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers and members of the news media.