Complete Credit Card Index

Personal bankruptcies were down in October for the fourth month in a row, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center and American Bankruptcy Institute.

From September, personal bankruptcies decreased by 2.1 percent in October.  Compared to October 2010, personal bankruptcy filings filed last month were down by 19.6 percent.

Executive director of the ABI Samuel Gerdano said of the drop in personal bankruptcy filings, The declining filings correlate to tightened consumer spending and the overall pullback in consumer credit associated with a stagnant economy.

Credit use decreased last year and the year before.  As of August of this year, consumer credit was declining at a 4.5 percent annual rate.