Q1 Bankruptcy (06/01/04)


FULL STORY:

During the first three months of this year, there were 407,572 consumer and business bankruptcy filings, which was down slightly from 1Q/03's 412,968 filings. However, year-to-date consumer and business bankruptcy filings were up 2.7%. Consumer bankruptcy filings continue to stay above the 1.6 million annual level, following a record of 1.66 million filed for the year ending September 30, 2003. 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. During the 12-month period ending March 31, 2004, Americans filed 1,176,654 Chapter 7 petitions, and 465,878 Chapter 13 petitions. For the first quarter, a total of 290,689 Chapter 7 filings and 112,101 Chapter 13 filings were made.

                            CHAPTER 7 FILINGS
                          (Years Ended March 31)
                            1999:  1,017,049
                            2000:    908,802
                            2001:    904,397
                            2002:  1,059,777
                            2003:  1,135,436
                            2004:  1,176,654 .