LoPucki's database, which does, reveals the opposite trend. In comparison, only 15 companies that large filed in all of 1997. The record was set in 1991, when 41 large, public companies filed for bankruptcy. These filings are driven by debt. If you look at companies' ratios of debt to revenue, you'll see it's up significantly from several years ago.
More bankruptcy filings is the end result.
LoPucki's findings fit some experts' belief that business bankruptcy filings increase during good economic times and drop off during recessions. The assumption is that many new businesses will start up or expand when debt is cheap. Some of them will overexpand and then collapse or retrench. All companies that file for bankruptcy in the United States must do so in district courts, explained LoPucki, which then automatically refer the cases to bankruptcy judges. Although no large public companies filed for bankruptcy in the five months following Farnan's order, filings resumed in July 1997.