Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 7, 1991 TAG: 9103070058
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Bankruptcies totaled 718,107 last year, with the worst increases in the Northeast, the American Financial Services Association noted on Wednesday. It was the sharpest rise since 1986, when filings rose 31 percent, and follows increases of 12 percent in 1989, 11 percent in 1988 and 10 percent in 1987.
"Personal bankruptcies are probably the clearest indicator that the consumer sector is in big trouble as a result of the economic slowdown and the loss of jobs," said economist Mark Zandi of Regional Financial Associates in West Chester, Pa.
But James W. Nelson, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, called the decrease in delinquent mortgages at the end of the year a hopeful sign.
Nationally, the rate dipped to a seasonally adjusted 4.71 percent in the final three months of 1990, compared with 5 percent in the third quarter and 4.96 percent in the last quarter of 1989. An improvement in most areas of the country more than compensated for an increase in the Northeast of loans 30 or more days past due.
"The declines were especially encouraging in the context of . . . problems that have plagued the economy in recent months," Nelson said. "It would not have been surprising to see increases."
Economists, however, noted that it often takes many months before people in economic difficulty no longer can pay their mortgages, and Nelson conceded that delinquencies could go higher this year.
by CNB