Bankruptcy filings in Puerto Rico down 21% in February
The number of bankruptcy petitions filed by companies and individuals in Puerto Rico during the month of February were down 21% when compared to the same month in 2021, according to information released by research firm Boletín de Puerto Rico.
Last month, a total of 295 cases were filed at the US Bankruptcy Court, compared to 374 cases on record for February 2021.
During the first two months of 2022, a total of 549 cases have been filed, representing a 16.6% drop when compared to the prior year.
Of those accrued cases, the report shows that Chapter 13 personal reorganization cases prevailed, with 346 cases on file under that category. That represents a 8.7% drop when compared to the 379 cases on record for the same two month-period in 2021.
Meanwhile, Chapter 7 total liquidation cases reached 197 for the two months, representing a 27.3% year-over-year drop, from the 271 cases on record for 2021, the report shows.
Next came Chapter 11 reorganization filings, with five cases on record for the two months in 2022, which is down 16.7% when compared to January-February 2021, when six cases were filed.
In the last category, Chapter 12 — a category reserved for agricultural businesses — there was one case filed in January-February 2022, down by 50% from the two cases filed during the first two months of 2021.
There were five petitions filed reporting nearly $13 million in debt, in the areas of food manufacturing, podiatry, real estate, hardware stores and restaurants. A total of 38 businesses filed for some sort of bankruptcy protection during the two-month period.
