ALEXANDRIA, Va. — January consumer bankruptcies decreased 22 percent nationwide from December 2010, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

The data showed that the overall consumer filing total for January reached 92,669, down from the 118,146 consumer filings recorded in December 2010. The January 2011 consumer filings represent the lowest monthly filing total since January 2009, when 88,773 filings were recorded.
 
"The decline in consumer filings in January represents a promising start to 2011 after years of expanding consumer debt and financial distress," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "Still, we anticipate that there will be nearly 1.6 million consumer bankruptcy filings by year end."
 
The January 2011 consumer filing total also represented a 9 percent drop from January 2010 total of 102,254. Chapter 13 filings constituted 32 percent of all consumer cases in January, a slight increase from December.