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BankruptcyNews
Junior Member
358 Posts |
 Posted - 12 November 2007 : 10:18:09
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Number of people filing for bankruptcy down 2%
The number of people filing for bankruptcy during the third quarter of the year fell by 2% compared with the previous year, Government figures showed today.
A total of 12,656 people applied to the courts in England and Wales to be made bankrupt during the period, according to the Ministry of Justice.
It was the second quarter running that the number of petitions made by debtors has fallen, after a record 15,119 people applied to be declared bankrupt during the first three months of the year.
There was also a 2% fall in the number of creditors applying to have people declared bankrupt, with these petitions totalling 4,974 during the third quarter, while company winding up petitions were 3% lower at 2,800.
The figures are in line with ones released by the Insolvency Service last week which showed the number of individuals being declared bankrupt had fallen by 5% compared with the same period of 2006, the first year-on-year drop for five years.
But the Insolvency Service said within the total the number of bankruptcies rose 2.2% on the same period last year to 15,833, while the number of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) fell by 14.3% following a dispute between banks and IVA providers.
Today's figures differ from last week's because they show the number of applications for bankruptcy made to the courts, not all of which will be granted, while the Insolvency Service's figures show the actual number of people who were declared insolvent.
Despite the fall in insolvencies, commentators have warned that many of the factors that will drive up the number of people falling behind with mortgage repayments or being unable to pay off their unsecured debts are still not being felt.
Many homeowners are still insulated from the five interest rate rises seen since August last year because they are on fixed rate mortgages, but an estimated 1.4 million of these deals are due to come to an end during 2008.
At the same time consumers' budgets are coming under increasing pressure from high petrol prices and rising food costs, while growth in disposable income remains slow.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently warned that the number of homes that are repossessed during 2008 looks set to reach levels last seen during the 1990s house price crash.
It predicts 45,000 homes will be repossessed by lenders during the year
- a 50% jump on estimates of 30,000 for this year.
Source: 24dash.com
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Number of people filing for bankruptcy down 2 perc
