ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute said total
bankruptcy filings in the U.S. for November decreased 12 percent compared to
the previous year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems.

Officials tallied that November bankruptcy filings totaled
86,946, down from the 98,534 filings registered in November of last year. Total
commercial filings for November were 4,199, representing a 19-percent decrease
from the 5,216 filings during the same period in 2011.

The 82,747 total noncommercial filings for November represented
an 11-percent drop from last November's noncommercial filing total of 93,318.

While other filing categories experienced decreases, ABI
found the November commercial Chapter 11 filings registered increases in
year-over-year and previous-month comparisons.

The 664 commercial Chapter 11 filings in November were a 10-percent
increase over the 601 commercial Chapter 11 filings in November of last year. Last
month's total commercial Chapter 11 filing total also represented a 23-percent
increase above the October total of 542.

"November continued the trend of declining bankruptcies in
the wake of a sustained drop in consumer spending on credit," ABI executive
director Samuel Gerdano said. "We are on pace for the lowest total new
bankruptcies since before the financial crisis in 2008."

Total, commercial and consumer bankruptcy filings in
November also represented decreases from October.

Total November filings were down 14 percent from the
October's total of 101,307. Commercial filings dropped 13 percent in November
from the October total of 4,800, and noncommercial filings decreased 14 percent
from the October total of 96,507.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate
through the first 11 calendar months of 2012 (Jan. 1—Nov. 30) was 3.91 (total
filings per 1,000 per population).

Average total filings per day in November were 2,898, a 12-percent
dip from the 3,285 total daily filings in November of last year.

States with the highest per capita filing rate (total
filings per 1,000 population) through the first 11 months of 2012 were:

1. Tennessee (7.01)

2. Nevada (6.61)

3. Georgia (6.49)

4. Alabama (5.96)

5. Utah (5.92)

ABI partnered with Epiq Systems — a provider of managed
technology for the global legal profession — in order to provide the most
current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers and members of the
news media.