There were 362 commercial chapter 11 filings registered in July 2023, an increase of 71 percent from the 212 filings registered in July 2022, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, a provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data.
Overall commercial filings increased 21 percent to 1,961 in July 2023, up from the 1,621 commercial filings registered in July 2022. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 61 percent to 153 in July 2023, up from 95 in July 2022.
Total bankruptcy filings were 35,716 in July 2023, a 15 percent increase from the July 2022 total of 30,862. Individual bankruptcy filings totaled 33,755 in July 2023, registering a 16 percent increase from the July 2022 filing 29,241 total. There were 19,476 Individual chapter 7 filings in July, a 17 percent increase versus 16,645 in July 2022 and there were 14,229 individual chapter 13 filings in July, a 13 percent increase over the 12,547 filings the previous year.
"The increase in commercial Chapter 11 filings in July is an indication of the challenges businesses continue to face in these dynamic times, however the data also suggests the economic recovery remains uneven and uncertain,” said Gregg Morin, Vice President of Business Development and Revenue at Epiq Bankruptcy. “We remain committed to sharing the evolving financial landscape’s impact on new bankruptcy filings and supporting the market with bankruptcy data metrics."
The July filing totals registered a decrease when compared to the previous month. Commercial chapter 11 filings registered the largest drop from the previous month, as the July total decreased 38 percent from the June chapter 11 filing total of 582. The commercial filing total represented a 9 percent decrease from the June 2023 commercial filing total of 2,146. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 decreased 22 percent from the 196 filed in June 2023. July’s total bankruptcy filings represented a 6 percent decrease when compared to the 37,782 total filings recorded in June. Total individual filings for July represented a 5 percent decrease from the June 2023 filing total of 35,636. Both individual chapter 7 and chapter 13 decreased 5 percent from June.
“More distressed consumers and businesses are turning to the financial lifeline of bankruptcy,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “While filings are still below levels seen prior to the pandemic, rising interest rates, inflationary pricing, and growing debt loads are contributing to an increase in households and businesses seeking a financial fresh start.”