In the first quarter of 2014, there were over 45,000 Consumer Bankruptcy Chapter 13 discharges. That number is up 19.4% from first quarter discharges in 2013 (38,000) and up 59.6% from first quarter 2012 (28,668).
PLEASE NOTE: Our data is based on one per household, minus multiple filers and has been cleansed to postal specifications.
Chapter 7 Filings increased slightly (1.4%) in February compared to January 2014. The number of Chapter 7 filings from February 2013 showed a significant decrease of over 11,000 (-18.2%) from February filings the year before. February 2014 numbers show the downward trend slowing as some 46,000 filings were processed last month compared to the 50,000 processed in February of 2013 representing a reduction of only 6.8%.
PLEASE NOTE: Our data is based on one per household, minus multiple filers and has been cleansed to postal specifications.
CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development) released their 2014 Score Card Deep Five Report, a comprehensive evaluation of the relative financial security of the American public.
Results from the Score Card reflect that 56.3% of all US consumers do not qualify for credit at “prime” rates. With an average annual pay of only $40,309, consumers in the state of Mississippi account for the highest percentage of consumers with subprime credit at 69.1%.
Consumer debt, and not just wicked winter weather, is having a chilling effect on retail sales. Consumer debt rose by $241 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, the largest period increase seen since the fall of 2007, according to a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
At the same time consumers were taking on more debt, retailers from Abercrombie and Fitch to Wal-Mart reported lackluster sales largely blamed on inclement weather and deflationary margins. Read more from this City Wire article from Kim Souza here.
Today, people are able to buy new cars even with a credit score lower than 500. A year ago that would have been very difficult to pull off. Dealerships all over the country are offering deals for high credit risk buyers as long as they have a good job, current utility bills that are in good standing, and some money for a down payment.
The market for subprime borrowing is hot and this time the car business is leading the way. The central bank’s stimulus is making it easier for people with spotty credit to buy cars as investors purchase riskier bonds linked to auto loans. Below are some interesting facts surrounding subprime lending:
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Filings and Discharges are down respectively by 10% from the first 42 weeks of 2013 compared to the first 42 weeks of 2012. Filings declined 10.6% while Discharges declined by 10.5%.
PLEASE NOTE: Our data is based on one per household, minus multiple filers and has been cleansed to postal specifications.
The top 10 states for Chapter 7 Discharges comprise 54.7% of all discharges year-to-date. Leading the pack is California with 15% of the total Discharges and over twice as many as the runner-up, Florida.
PLEASE NOTE: Our data is based on one per household, minus multiple filers and has been cleansed to postal specifications.