Small business bankruptcies in metro Atlanta plummet

By J. Scott Trubey

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Significantly fewer metro Atlanta small businesses filed for bankruptcy in the second quarter, according to a report Thursday from Equifax.

Metro filings dropped to 275 during the second quarter, down 35.6 percent compared to a year ago. It was the biggest drop among the top 15 markets with the most business bankruptcies.

Atlanta ranked 15th in the nation in the quarter, after ranking 5th in the same period of 2009.

Thirteen of the top 15 U.S. cities for bankruptcies reported improvements. But the fundamentals of these markets remain weak, according to Equifax, the Atlanta-based credit rating company.

Nationally, the rate of small business bankruptcies through the first six months of 2010 was flat compared to last year. Atlanta's rate slowed.

"These findings show the ups and downs of today's small businesses trying to navigate emerging market trends across all regions," Reza Barazesh, senior vice president of Equifax Commercial Information Solutions, said in a news release. "The next six months will likely tell us how economic conditions will impact the future successes or failures of small firms across the country."

Of the top cities for bankruptcies in the quarter, only Atlanta, Chicago and New York are east of the Mississippi. Los Angeles, Chicago and Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, Calif., reported the highest number of businesses filings.