Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy filings up 10% in March
More than 1,000 bankruptcy cases were filed in March. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy filings jumped by 10 percent year-over-year in March, when 1,007 cases were filed. The bulk of the cases belonged to the Chapter 13 category, which allow individuals to reorganize their finances.
A total of 601 individuals sought the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s protection last month, representing 17 more cases than those filed in March 2013, according to preliminary data provided by research firm Boletín de Puerto Rico.
Next came Chapter 7 total liquidation filings, with 385 on record, representing a whopping 28.7 percent year-over-year jump.
There were 19 Chapter 11 cases filed by businesses seeking to reorganize under the court’s supervision and continue operating.
In the last category, Chapter 12 — a category reserved for agricultural businesses — there were two cases filed in March, up 100 percent from the same month last year.
During the first quarter of the year, Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy filings have increased by 5 percent when compared to the same three-month period last year. A total of 2,632 cases have been filed from January to March, representing 130 more cases vs. the same quarter in 2013, the report showed.
While bankruptcies were down 4 percent in January when compared to the same month last year, the following month’s results showed a significant change, with filings increasing by 8 percent year-over-year.
