High personal insolvency levels becoming the norm

Commenting on last week’s national insolvency statistics, Louise Brittain, partner in Deloitte’s Contentious Insolvency Group, said: “The high numbers of people filing for bankruptcy is unfortunately becoming the norm. In previous quarters we have seen a steady elevation in personal insolvency levels and it is not surprising that today’s figures have continued at high levels, coming close to the 35,000 mark we saw last quarter.

“There are swathes of people struggling with debt, and finding themselves in desperate situations. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. I fully expect that we will see another rise in the total number of people petitioning for bankruptcy in the second half of this year. Indeed, I expect the annual figure to reach the 140,000 mark.

“However, the cost of filing for bankruptcy currently stands at £600 – this is not an insignificant amount, and as a result we may see an increase in IVAs as the IVA market adjusts its pricing to make it more cost effective than bankruptcy.”

Source: creditman.co.uk