Other factors that have likely contributed to the upward trend are a lessening of the social stigma of filing for bankruptcy and growing access to credit in the United States. As lenders have become more sophisticated in their ability to assess the riskiness of borrowers, they have extended loans to households that were previously denied credit.
These households are more likely to default on their obligations than the typical borrower, but the increased risk is priced into loan terms. Although the bankruptcy rate remains elevated, it has edged down on balance in recent months, likely because of the pickup in economic growth in the United States since mid-2003.