NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Link to Fitch Ratings' Report: U.S. Personal Bankruptcy Filings on Target for Eight-Year Lows
https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=868639
Continuing momentum in the overall economy is positioning U.S. personal bankruptcy filings to fall to levels not seen in nearly eight years, according to Fitch Ratings in a new report.
Personal bankruptcy filings were 11.6% lower through the first six months of this year than through the same period in 2014, surpassing Fitch's initial full-year forecast of an 8%-10% decline. As a result, Fitch has revised its 2015 projection for personal bankruptcy filings to fall roughly 10%-12% from 2014 levels. At this rate, the new projection will put a new full year decline at roughly 782,700 to 800,500 for 2015, which would be the fourth time in 20 years that personal bankruptcies closed under one million.
'Further improvements in both jobless claims and unemployment helped precipitate the better-than-expected decline in consumer bankruptcy filings,' said Director Herman Poon. 'If this momentum continues, personal bankruptcy filings will fall for a fifth straight year once 2015 comes to a close.'
As expected, lower personal bankruptcy filings continued to bolster record consumer ABS performance through the first half of 2015. Credit card delinquencies and chargeoffs have been hovering at or near record lows since the start of the year. Meanwhile, prime auto loan ABS performance remains solid through the first half of 2015. While subprime auto ABS losses demonstrate higher volatility in 2015, they remain below peak recessionary levels.
Fitch's '2015 Consumer Bankruptcy Update' is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' or by clicking on the above link.
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.