ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Though consumer bankruptcies in January fell 10 percent from the previous month, this isn't necessarily indicative of things to come. In fact, the American Bankruptcy Institute suggested Tuesday that various economic pressures could push bankruptcies this year past their 2009 levels.

"While January represented a drop in filings from the previous month, high unemployment rates, unsustainable mortgage burdens and other economic stresses will push more consumers to seek the financial relief of bankruptcy in 2010," explained Samuel Gerdano, ABI executive director.

"Consumer filings this year will likely surpass the 1.4 million consumer filings recorded in 2009," he added. 

Specifically, ABI noted — citing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center — that there were 102,253 consumer bankruptcies filings in the U.S. last month, compared with 113,274 in December.

However, this marked a 15-percent upswing from the prior-year period, when consumer bankruptcy filings hit 88,773.

Of all the consumer cases in January, 30 percent were Chapter 13. This marked a 2-percent uptick compared to December levels.