June bankruptcy filings in isles dip to 11-year low

Hawaii bankruptcy filings declined to their lowest June level in 11 years as the number of monthly cases began to even out following a long downward trend.

Statewide cases dipped 4.3 percent last month to 110 from 115 in the year-earlier period, according to data released Monday from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Hawaii. It was the fewest cases in June since 104 cases were filed in 2006 when the number of filings was artificially low because of a significant law change the preceding October.

Bankruptcy cases have risen four of the past seven months but have been flat or down from the year-earlier period for 68 of the past 75 months.

“It’s hard to say there’s a real trend upward, but certainly there’s a bottoming out,” Honolulu bankruptcy attorney Blake Goodman said.

Goodman said that despite recent deviations from the downward trend, filings remain historically low.

“The filing volumes continue to stay around 100 to 120 a month,” he said. “The average filing volume since 1991 has been about 2,990, or almost 250 cases a month. So we’re below even half that average (at about 108 filings a month). Until the filing numbers start getting up to 150 or 200, I think the bankruptcies are still what you would consider in a decline.”

Bankruptcies have declined for six straight years since 2010 amid a solid state economy buoyed by record tourist arrivals, low unemployment, a booming construction industry and record-high housing prices.

Through the first six months of the year, there have been 650 cases compared with 689 during the same time frame in 2016. At that pace there will be 1,300 bankruptcy cases this year — the lowest number since 955 were filed in 2006. The peak since that year was 3,954 filings in 2010.

In last month’s filings, Chapter 7 liquidation — the most common type of bankruptcy — fell 16.7 percent, to 70 from 84 in the year-earlier period.

Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals with regular sources of income to set up plans to make installment payments to creditors over three to five years, rose 30 percent, to 39 from 30.

There was one Chapter 11 reorganization case last month as well as in the year-earlier period. Chapter 11 filings typically involve businesses.

Across the state, the number of filings rose in Honolulu from the year-earlier period and declined in the other three major counties. Bankruptcies in Honolulu County increased to 76 from 67. Elsewhere, Hawaii County filings fell to seven from 17, Maui County filings slipped to 20 from 21 and Kauai County filings dipped to seven from 10.