Accountant in Bankruptcy finishes year in the black
The Accountant in Bankruptcy achieved its target of recovering its operating costs for the second year in a row in 2014-15, according to its annual report published today.
The report also reveals that total personal insolvencies, which include bankruptcies and protected trust deeds, awarded during the year fell sharply by 19% to 11,167, down from 13,793 for 2013-14.
However funds returned to creditors continue to rise through protected trust deeds and debt payment programmes approved through the Debt Arrangement Scheme. The £36.8m returned through the DAS, with 896 DAS cases concluded, was up 73% on 2013-14. A further £27.6m was paid to creditors on conclusion of protected trust deed cases.
AiB recovered all of its operating costs through administration of its statutory debt solutions, achieving its target despite AiB seeing through the implementation of the Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Act, with its provisions including a new route into bankruptcy for those with minimal assets, measures to promote financial capability, and new protections for creditors such as deferred discharge by trustees, and bankruptcy restriction orders where there is evidence of misconduct before or during a debtor’s bankruptcy.
Since its year end, AiB has appointed a new chief executive, with Dr Richard Dennis taking over after Rosemary Winter-Scott retired in May.
Dr Dennis said: “It has been an very busy but an extremely successful year for the Agency, which is reflected in this report."
On the returns to creditors he commented: “The £36.8m paid through the Debt Arrangement Scheme and the protected trust deed average dividend increasing to 21.7p in the pound demonstrate the interests of creditors and businesses are balanced with the needs of the debtor in every case."
He added: "This report highlights the hard work of AiB staff – past and present – throughout the year, and demonstrates how the strong direction from our board and the positive relationships fostered with our stakeholders in the industry have played their parts in delivering the strong performance central to these positive outcomes.”