Report Roundup: Bankruptcy Filings Increase; Synthetic IDs Cost FIs
- Roy Urrico
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Roy Urrico
Finopotamus aims to highlight white papers, surveys and reports that provide a glimpse as to what is taking place and/or impacting credit unions and other organizations in the financial services industry.
Bankruptcy filings and the cost of synthetic identities to financial institutions are the focus of two different recently released reports.
U.S. Bankruptcy Filings Increased in July
New monthly bankruptcy data from Burlingame, Calif.-based G2 Risk Solutions (G2RS) showed total July 2025 consumer and commercial filings increased 7.25% from June 2025. Consumer filings reached 48,275 in July 2025; commercial filings for July were 1,324.
G2RS, which specializes in risk and compliance business intelligence for financial institutions and online platforms, found that compared to a year ago, consumer filings in July 2025 grew 10.85% year-over-year (YoY). G2RS analysts noted severe delinquencies — accounts 90 or more days past due — are rising across consumer credit, auto, and mortgage lending categories, with the steepest increases in consumer credit and auto portfolios.
Mortgage delinquencies are climbing at a more moderate pace. Early-stage delinquencies (30–89 days past due) are also ticking upward in multiple portfolios, indicating a potential pipeline of accounts that could raise delinquency risks for lenders in the months ahead, the report stated.
“Pressure on household finances is showing up in lenders’ loss metrics, with elevated net charge-off rates in unsecured consumer lending and auto finance, said Ryan Sanders, director, enterprise sales, at G2RS. “This increases expectations for continued stress in the back half of the year.”
Sanders noted that other economic indicators point to tightening consumer liquidity, such as increasing hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts, declining household savings balances, and slowing prepayment activity in auto and mortgage segments.
Commercial filings in July increased by 20.25% over June 2025, and 45.02% over July 2024. Although overall, commercial filings for 2025 year-to-date have decreased compared to 2024, they remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. Since the end of pandemic relief programs in 2022, commercial filings have increased significantly each year, with YoY growth rates of 56.2% in 2023 and 35.1% in 2024.
“Last month’s commercial data is particularly striking,” said Sanders. “The sharp 20% month-over-month increase in commercial filings, particularly in the context of the 45% jump compared to a year ago, suggests that the economic environment is putting a strain on companies as well as consumers. Commercial lenders and creditors should remain vigilant and consider proactive risk management approaches."
Synthetic Identities Fraud Threaten FIs
Synthetic identity fraud is forecast to cost financial institutions (FIs) $23 billion globally in 2025 and $58.3 billion by 2030, according to Juniper Research’s newest study, Fraud Detection & Prevention in Banking Market Report 2025-30: Size, Share, Trends.
The report from Hampshire, United Kingdom-based Juniper Research, which provides market intelligence and advisory services to the global financial sector, also found synthetic identity threats becoming more sophisticated, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to create new identities based on real, stolen information. This allows the identities to stay under the radar for longer and steal more money from financial institutions. These identities can pass traditional, static fraud checks; forcing credit unions and banks to upgrade their fraud detection and prevention techniques.
To combat this, FIs, the report noted, must verify identities throughout the customer lifecycle. Biometric behavioral analysis, such as typing rhythms or touch patterns, plays a crucial role in identifying anomalies in real-time.
According to Lorien Carter, senior research analyst at Juniper Research, “The rise in fraudulent transactions has effects reaching beyond fraud loss. The recent spate of banks being fined for failing to correctly identify high-risk transactions, such as Monzo, Barclays, and TD Bank, shows that regulators are taking this issue extremely seriously. Financial institutions must increase investment in their fraud detection teams and technology to avoid further monetary and reputational losses.”
$21.1 billion spent on fraud detection and prevention by financial institutions in 2025
$39.1 billion spent on fraud detection and prevention by financial institutions by 2030
85.5% 2025 to 2030 market growth
Juniper’s Fraud Detection and Prevention in Banking research suite provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the types of fraud, and methods. According to Juniper, these services enable stakeholders such as financial institutions and fintechs to understand future growth, key trends and the competitive environment.