Puerto Rico bankruptcies up 29% in November
Bankruptcy filings in Puerto Rico jumped by 29% in November, with a total of 395 cases filed, compared to 306 filings in the same month last year, according to data released by research firm Boletín de Puerto Rico.
The data show that, so far this year, individuals and corporations in Puerto Rico seeking protection from creditors have filed 3,397 cases in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, up 15.2% year-over-year.
When broken down by categories, the November year-to-date data reveal increases in three of the four filing categories, with only one category reflecting a drop in activity in the first 11 months of the year.
Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals to undergo a financial reorganization supervised by a federal bankruptcy court, were up 21.7% through November, totaling 2,688 cases, or 67.3% of the cases filed in the first 11 months of the year.
Chapter 7 filings, or those filed by individuals or corporations seeking total liquidation of assets, were up 3% through November, reaching 1,241 cases, representing 31% of the total number of filings, the research shows. There were 1,205 cases filed during the first 11 months of 2022.
Meanwhile, Chapter 11 filings, a legal protection for businesses and individuals looking to reorganize their finances and start over, totaled 64 cases as of November, a 36.2% increase from the 47 cases filed in the same period in 2022.
Finally, Chapter 12 filings, which are reserved for farmers and agricultural operations, were down nearly 56% through November, with four cases filed this year compared to nine in the first 11 months of 2022.
The six largest bankruptcies by sector came from hospitals, dairy farms, real estate/construction operations, a motel, doctors, and restaurants, cumulatively reporting $538 million in debt.
The list includes Azure Development, Landmark Commercial Centers Development, Hotel Flor del Valle, Centro Medico del Turabo, and Insight Radiology Puerto Rico.
