IN FOUR 0F the last five months, bankruptcy filings in NH were ahead of the prior year’s tallies, but the increases are not dramatic and are far from record levels, according to recent statistics.. NH filings in 2001 were up 9 percent over the previous year, far below the 19 percent increase experienced nationally.

In New Hampshire in 2001, 3,887 new bankruptcies were filed, compared to 3,561 in 2000. However, that pace pales compared to the nearly 5,000 bankruptcies filed in 1998, NH’s peak year.

Meanwhile, the national picture was bleaker in 2001. According to federal court statistics, the number of new bankruptcies filed rose to a historic high of 1,492,129 cases, a 19 percent increase from the 1,253,444 cases filed in 2000 and a 3.4 percent increase from the 1,442,549 cases filed in 1998. The total number of new bankruptcies filed in the fourth quarter of 2001 (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31) was 364,921, an 18 percent increase over the same period a year ago and the highest fourth quarter ever.

Nationwide, in 2001, the largest number of filings continues to be under chapter 7. Total chapter 7 filings were 1,054,975, a 23 percent increase from 859,220 in 2000. Chapter 13 filings, the next largest category, increased by 11 percent from 383,894 for the same period in 2000 to 425,292. Chapter 11 filings rose 16 percent from 9,884 to 11,424, spurred by a record number of large public company filings.

"As predicted, 2001 was a boom year for bankruptcies," said Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). "The combination of record levels of consumer debt and an economic downturn beginning in 2000 caused more families to face financial stress than ever before," he said.

New Hampshire, along with other New England states, has among the lowest levels of consumer bankruptcies in the country. The ABI ranked NH 42nd out of the 50 states in the ratio of households to bankruptcies filed. In 2001, there were 125 households for every consumer bankruptcy filing in NH, compared to the national average of 70 households. Tennessee was tops in the nation with one filing for every 35 households in the state.

For more information on bankruptcy trends, visit www.nhb.uscourts.gov or www.abiworld.org.

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