- The total number of new bankruptcy filings in April exceeded the 40K level for a second straight month, driven by new non-commercial or individual filings.
- The total number of filings of 40,886 across all chapters of bankruptcy procedures fell some from 41,156 in March, but has risen 16% over the average of the prior seven-month period, according to bankruptcy filing statistics from AACER bankruptcy information services.
- The number of new non-commercial or individual filings were 38,813 in April, an indicator that "new non-commercial bankruptcy filings may be returning to pre-pandemic levels," said Chris Kuse, senior vice president of Epiq AACER.
- New commercial Chapter 11 filings totaled 287 in April, down 26% from March. Commercial filings across all chapters in April declined 10% from March, indicating that many companies are still able to access capital instead of seeking bankruptcy, according to Deirdre O'Connor, senior managing director of corporate restructuring at Epiq.
- In another bankruptcy-related report, Chapter 11 and real estate bankruptcy filings stayed steady in Q1 2021 for the first time in a yer, helped by federal aid packages, eviction moratoriums, and the vaccine rollout, according to the Polsinelli-TrBK Distress Indices Report.
- "The number of bankruptcy filings in the health care industry is now lower than we've seen in years," said Polsinelli Shareholder Jeremy Johnson, a bankruptcy and restructuring attorney and co-author of the report.
- The Chapter 11 Distress Research Index was 83.60 in Q1 2021, down 3 points from the previous quarter. Compared with the same period a year ago, the Index has risen more than 20 points.
Source: Polsinelli TrBK
- The Real Estate Distress Research Index was 23.47 for Q1, down almost 5 points from Q4 2020 and down 7 points from a year ago.
- The Health Care Services Distress Research Index was 396.67, down 20 points Q/Q and up more than 163 points from a year ago.
- The Polsinelli-TrBK Distress Indices track the increase or decrease in all Chapter 11 filings with more than $1M in assets since Q4 2010.
- In March, both reports expected bankruptcies to climb this year.