Bankruptcy Factor (07/06/04)

FULL STORY:

While personal bankruptcies are running about 3% lower than last year, there is still a significant impact on the card industry. In March, bankruptcies topped 150,000, a factor noted in MBNA's charge-off figures for May. MBNA reported last week that its charge-off rate edged up by 18 basis points in May due to the March filings. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, a record number of filings took place in the quarter ending June 30, 2003, when 440,257 filings were made. So far, 282,052 filings have been made in the second quarter of this year, about 158,000 short of the all-time record. 


              Monthly Filings Historical
                   Jun 03: 130,242
                   Jul 03: 138,400
                   Aug 03: 138,266
                   Sep 03: 127,079
                   Oct 03: 148,044
                   Nov 03: 131,921
                   Dec 03: 113,383
                   Jan 04: 114,737
                   Feb 04: 124,719
                   Mar 04: 152,567
                   Apr 04: 145,543
                   May 04: 136,509
               Source: CardData (www.carddata.com)