Phoenix-area bankruptcies in April touched a six-month high, but filings continued their long-term trend of year-over-year declines.
The 1,645 filings last month were the highest since October but were down 18 percent from April 2012, marking the 27th consecutive month of year-over-year declines, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix. Filings often follow a seasonal pattern, making year-over-year comparisons the most important.
For example, many people don’t initiate bankruptcy proceedings until after they receive income-tax refunds in the early part of the year, so they can retain that money and use it to pay for an attorney. For all of Arizona, the 2,234 filings in April also marked a 2013 high but were down 17 percent from April 2012.
One factor helping borrowers has been the continuing level of low interest rates engineered by Federal Reserve policies.
Read more: Phoenix-area bankruptcies hit six-month high
