Maine bankruptcy filings creep up, but are still under last year's pace
The number of Mainers and Maine businesses seeking bankruptcy protection appears to be on an upswing, but is still tracking toward a total that would be fewer than last year’s.
There were 74 bankruptcy petitions filed last month in Bangor and Portland federal courts, and the same number during March. Those totals are up from 48 in February and the highest since September 2020, according to court records.
The totals include both business and individual filings under Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. The vast majority of the filings have been under Chapter 7, which arranges for the distribution of a debtor’s property and for businesses usually leads to liquidation.
The data also show that Maine bankruptcies during the pandemic, so far, hit their peak at its onset. Filings in March 2020 numbered 120. The number for the entire year was 1,015. To date in 2021, there have been 237 filings in Maine, slightly under last year’s pace.
However, even the 2020 total pales in comparison to 2019, when there were 1,358 bankruptcy filings. The number in other recent years was even higher, and exceeded 2,000 in 2014.
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