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WNY economy keeps local bankruptcy filings in decline while rest of the country sees slight increase

Posted: November 08, 2010

Buffalo, NY – Locally, bankruptcy filings continued to decline during the month of October, with a 21.3 percent decrease according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York. National figures showed a slight increase of 1.4 percent for October 2010 over October 2009.

“I think we can attribute the differences here in Western New York to the fact we have a much different economy than in the rest of the country,” said Jeffrey Freedman, senior partner, Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law. “This region has struggled with weak economic growth and population losses in recent decades, with the result that we have already been through an economic restructuring.”

Homeowners in Upstate New York didn’t take on as much debt and households have been less strained here because this region did not have the housing boom seen in other areas. Additionally, this is a more financially conservative area where homebuyers did not sign on for the risk-laden mortgages that were made in areas such as Florida and California, nor did local lenders push those mortgages. Experts such as William C. Dudley, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank, say the Upstate economy has performed well over the past few years.

“Our economy diversified over the past couple of decades. We now have several strong universities and colleges, a flourishing medical and research sector, and a strong banking industry,” Freedman said. “This diversification has helped the region weather the recession. Fortunately, this means fewer Western New Yorkers are experiencing the kind of financial difficulties that drive them to the bankruptcy courts.”

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