Consumer bankruptcy filings climb 11%

U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings rose 11% in the first nine months of this year, versus the same period in 2009, the American Bankruptcy Institute said Monday, citing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. Filings totaled 1,165,172 nationwide during the first nine months of 2010, compared to 1,046,449 total consumer filings during the same period a year ago. The bankruptcy filings so far in 2010 represent the highest total since 2005. "We expect that there will be nearly 1.6 million new bankruptcy filings by year end," ABI Executive Director Samuel Gerdano said in a statement. Consumer bankruptcies totalled 130,329 in September. That was 3.3% up from August 2010