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Economy

Bankruptcies Rise 3.2% in October in Puerto Rico

A total of 586 bankruptcy cases were filed last month, the fifth consecutive monthly increase and the highest October total since 2019.

PuertoRico.com News Desk··2 min read·Checked against 2 sources
MCS Building, home to the Bankruptcy Court in Ponce, Puerto RicoPhoto
MCS Building in Ponce, Puerto Rico, August 2017 Photo: Eljohnson15 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

The short version

  • Sin Comillas reports 586 bankruptcy cases were filed in October, a 3.2% increase from the previous year
  • El Vocero confirms the upward trend in bankruptcies continued through October
  • Sin Comillas states 49 businesses filed for bankruptcy with $14.9 million in debt, including 29 beauty salons
  • Year-to-date filings reached 5,283 through October, up 4.8% from 2025 according to Sin Comillas

Monthly and yearly increases

According to Sin Comillas, 586 bankruptcy cases were filed in Puerto Rico in October, a 3.2 percent increase compared with the same month last year. Sin Comillas reported It is the fifth consecutive monthly rise and the highest number of October filings since 2019.

El Vocero also reported that bankruptcies maintained an upward trend in October. El Vocero reported

Through the first 10 months of 2026, 5,283 bankruptcies have been filed, a 4.8 percent increase over the same period in 2025, Sin Comillas said.

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Commercial filings

Sin Comillas reported that 49 businesses filed for bankruptcy in October, an 11.4 percent increase from the previous year, carrying a total debt of $14.9 million. This was the highest number of business filings in three months. Of those, 29 cases involved beauty salons.

From January through October, 446 commercial bankruptcies were filed, a 10.7 percent increase compared with the same period last year and the highest total since 2016, according to the outlet.

Annual projection

Boletín de Puerto Rico projects that 2026 will end with around 6,340 bankruptcies, a 6.8 percent increase from 2025 and the highest annual total since 2019, Sin Comillas reported. It would mark the fourth consecutive yearly increase.

In 2025, total bankruptcies reached 5,939, the highest since 2019 and a 4.0 percent rise from 2024, when filings had grown 28.8 percent, the publication added.

Where the sources differ

Both El Vocero and Sin Comillas agree that bankruptcies continued their upward trend in October. Sin Comillas provides specific figures: 586 total cases in October (up 3.2 percent), 5,283 year-to-date (up 4.8 percent), 49 business filings with $14.9 million debt, and a full-year projection of 6,340. El Vocero reports the general trend but supplies no numbers. Sin Comillas also includes historical comparisons back to 2016 and annual totals for 2024 and 2025.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not identify which specific sectors beyond beauty salons are driving the increases, whether any major employers or chains are among the filers, or what economic factors are cited as causes. No government response or policy measures addressing the rise in filings are mentioned.

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Sources

Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.

  1. Reporting Las quiebras crecieron 3.2% en octubreSin Comillas (Sin Comillas) · sincomillas.com · Spanish · checked Nov 3, 7:58 PM AST
  2. Reporting Quiebras mantienen tendencia al alza en octubreEl Vocero (El Vocero) · elvocero.com · Spanish · checked Nov 3, 7:58 PM AST

How we checked this

Sin Comillas supplied the detailed statistics and projections drawn from Boletín de Puerto Rico data. El Vocero confirmed the ongoing upward tendency without providing figures. All specific counts, percentages and forecasts rest on the Sin Comillas account.

EconomyBankruptciesBusiness filingsCommercial debt

Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Old San Juan from the airNils Huenerfuerst / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

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