- US Debating What to Do With Billions of TARP Money Left
- For Video Game Makers, Stakes Are High for Holidays
- In Charity Tax Filing, a Real Glimpse of Goldman Sachs
- 30 Year Mortgage Rate Falls Again; Lowest In Five Weeks
- No Near-Term Inflation Threat: Fed's Plosser
- US Mortgage Refinancing Up; Buying Demand Sinks
- Intel Agrees to Pay AMD $1.25 Billion to Settle Disputes
- Ford, Hyundai, Audi Gaining Consumer Interest
- Wal-Mart Holiday Forecast Light, Profit Beats
- Wal-Mart Looks Even Better Next Quarter: Strategist
- Fourteen Stocks that Could Gain from Dollar's Decline
- Busch: Another Obama Opportunity
- Light the Lights! Buffett and Gates Prepare to Answer Students' Questions at Columbia
- Farrell: Retailers?
- A Public Hearing That Isn't Public
- Boise State's Brilliant Stock Plan
- Apple's Global Retail Invasion
- Intel Settles; AMD Settles the Score
MOST SHARED
- Jobless Claims Post Another Drop as Picture Improves
- Obama Plans Jobs Summit But Not Second Stimulus
- Meet The Leaders of the New Retail Revolution
- Wal-Mart Holiday Forecast Light, Profit Beats
- A Public Hearing That Isn't Public
- "Friending" Big Pharma
- Obama Most Powerful Person in World: Forbes
- 30 Year Mortgage Rate Falls Again; Lowest In Five Weeks
- Activision Says 'Call of Duty' Sets Launch Record
Text Size 
Bankruptcy filings by U.S. consumers jumped 47.7 percent in April from one year ago as families cope with fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis, the American Bankruptcy Institute said.
T
 |
Bill Haber / AP |
"The sharp spike in consumer bankruptcies reflects the growing financial stress faced by American families, saddled with household debt and mortgage woes," said Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the institute.
"We expect consumer bankruptcies to top 1 million new cases this year."
For all of 2007, there were 850,912 U.S. bankruptcy filings, up 38 percent from 2006.
The all-time high of more than 2 million consumer bankruptcy filings occurred in 2005, just before the federal bankruptcy law was reformed to make it more difficult for consumers to discharge their debt under Chapter 7 of the law. The reforms also increased debt payments required under Chapter 13 filings and eliminated some protections such as delaying housing evictions or delaying child support proceedings.
Some Democrats in Congress this year unsuccessfully sought another change in the federal bankruptcy law to let bankruptcy judges reduce mortgage amounts to reflect the current fair value of a home. That move was opposed by Republicans and the banking industry.
Under current Chapter 13 bankruptcy law, a judge may restructure most of a consumer's loans ranging from credit cards to car payments, but may not modify a secured debt such as a home mortgage.
Bankruptcy filings made under Chapter 7 allow a consumer or business to liquidate assets to pay off creditors. Chapter 11 filings are made by companies seeking to reorganize and pay debts while staying in business.
Print
Email
- CNBC is liveblogging a talk given by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to students at Columbia University.
- US real estate prices have fallen dramatically, but some places are still doing well. See the best-performing zip codes this year.
- Vote and suggest your own, and remember--there's a fine line between a hero and a zero.
- A European dating site finds lovelorn singles from one specific country to be uglier than any other. Which is it?
- Contributor David Pogue looks at two of the latest efforts to perfect the digital pocket camera.
- Just in time for the holidays, the Triumph company of Japan offers the latest innovation in women’s undergarments.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes