Consumers With a New Bankruptcy (NY Fed, Thousands)

## What this measures

The number of people who had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit report for the first time in the quarter, in thousands, from the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, a five percent sample of Equifax credit reports scaled to the population.

## Why it matters

Personal bankruptcy is the last resort of households that cannot repay. It rises with unemployment and with debt burdens, and it collapsed after the 2005 bankruptcy law change.

## How to read it

Higher is worse. The spike in late 2005 reflects filings rushed ahead of the new law, which took effect that October. Read it with new foreclosures (credit.hhdc.new_foreclosures_thousands) and court bankruptcy filings (credit.bankruptcy.total_filings_monthly).

## What it does not say

It counts consumers, not cases (a joint filing can add two people). It comes from credit reports, so its timing can differ from court filing counts.

## Source

Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, data workbook (Page 17, Number of Consumers with New Foreclosures and Bankruptcies, column "bankruptcy"), built on the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax. Used under the New York Fed's terms (business use with attribution). Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax. Refreshed by /api/cron/hhdc-sync, which re-reads the full history from the newest workbook.