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To: Bucky Katt who wrote (15672)	8/11/1998 4:03:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116777

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal bankruptcy filings topped 1.42 million in the 12-month period that ended June 30, a record for any one-year period. A 9.2 percent increase in personal bankruptcies spurred the rise even though the number of business bankruptcies dropped, according to a report released Monday by federal court officials. The trend, which has seen the number of bankruptcy filings steadily climb from the 845,000 reported for the 12 months that ended in June 1994, might get turned around by Congress. In June, the House passed sweeping legislation sought by credit card companies to make it harder for people to sweep away their debts by filing for bankruptcy protection. The bill is the most far-reaching overhaul of the nation's personal bankruptcy laws in 20 years. It would establish a ''needs'' test for people filing for bankruptcy court protection from creditors. The Clinton administration supports some changes in bankruptcy laws but has strongly opposed the House bill in its current form. The administration prefers a milder measure pending in the Senate but also wants changes in it. Prospects for that measure are unclear. The report filed by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts shows that the number of business bankruptcies dropped from the 53,993 filed in the 12-month period ending in June 1997 to 50,202. But nonbusiness or personal bankruptcies were up from 1.26 million to 1.37 million. In February, the administrative office reported that 1.4 million bankruptcy petitions were filed in 1997, the most of any calendar year. Just last month, however, a study predicted that personal bankruptcy filings will level off in 1998 and decline in 1999. The study by SMR Research Corp. in Hacketstown, N.J., cited a drop in interest rates, which has enabled consumers to refinance debt at lower monthly payments. The most common form of bankruptcy proceeding is filed under the federal code's Chapter 7, designed to allow individuals to keep certain belongings while selling off other property to repay creditors. Businesses that file under Chapter 7 sell off all assets and cease doing business. For the 12 months ending last June 30, 1.01 million Chapter 7 petitions were filed. More than 400,000 petitions were filed under the code's Chapter 13, which allows debtors to repay creditors in installments, in full or in part, over a period of years. c Copyright 1998 The Associated Press search.washingtonpost.com