This article analyzes a unique data set to shed new light on credit availability to debtors who
filed for consumer bankruptcy. In particular, our data set allows us to distinguish between
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debtors, to observe changes in credit demand and credit supply,
and to differentiate between existing and new credit accounts. The paper has four main
findings. First, despite speedy recoveries in their credit scores after bankruptcy filings, most
debtors have reduced access to credit after filing for bankruptcy including reduced limits …

This paper uses a unique data set to shed new light on credit availability to consumer
bankruptcy filers. In particular, the authors' data allow them to distinguish between Chapter 7
and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings, to observe changes in credit demand and credit supply
explicitly, and to differentiate existing and new credit accounts. The paper has four main
findings. First, despite speedy recovery in their risk scores after bankruptcy filing, most filers
have much reduced access to credit in terms of credit limits, and the impact seems to be long …