Bankruptcy filings were up 11.9% in last 12 months

Published April 24, 2026 3:30 PM

Updated April 24, 2026 3:30 PM

1 Min Read

In this week's banking news roundup:

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts released new statistics on bankruptcy filings on Thursday;
JPMorganChase named Jerry Lee and Nick Richitt as global co-heads of health care investment banking;
Goldman Sachs appointed Akila Raman as global head of its private and alternatives capital markets business; and more.

Bankruptcy filings bumped up 11.9% in past 12 months

Bankruptcy filings rose 11.9% during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on Thursday. Total filings rose to 591,850 cases, compared with 529,080 cases reported during the year ending March 31, 2025.

Business filings increased 11.4%, from 23,309 in March 2025 to 25,960 in the newest report. Nonbusiness filings rose 11.9%, from 505,771 in March 2025 to 565,890 in March 2026.

Bankruptcy totals for the previous 12 months are reported four times annually.

For more than a decade, total filings fell steadily, from a high of nearly 1.6 million in September 2010 to a low of 380,634 in June 2022. Total filings have increased each quarter since then, but they remain far lower than historical highs. —Traci Parks

JPMorgan taps Lee, Richitt to run health care investment banking

JPMorganChase has elevated Jerry Lee and Nick Richitt as global co-heads of health care investment banking. The bankers succeed Jeremy Meilman, who will become a vice chair of investment banking and spend more time with key health care clients, according to a memo reviewed by Bloomberg News.

A spokeswoman for JPMorgan confirmed the contents of the memo, which was from global banking co-heads Filippo Gori and John Simmons, and Dorothee Blessing, who leads investment banking coverage globally.

Lee joined JPMorgan earlier this year after nearly two decades at Goldman Sachs to be global chair of investment banking. Richitt most recently co-led the global health care services investment banking group. JPMorgan said he had helped the bank gain a market leading position in the space.

JPMorgan's health care group has advised on recent deals such as Tubulis GmbH's up to $5 billion sale to Gilead Sciences, and the buyout of Select Medical Holdings by a consortium including co-founder Robert Ortenzio, executive Martin Jackson and private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. —Michelle F. Davis, Bloomberg News

Goldman names Raman as head of alternatives capital markets

Goldman Sachs named Akila Raman as global head of its private and alternatives capital markets business, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. Raman, most recently chief commercial and strategy officer of transaction banking at the bank, will in her new role lead capital raising, structuring and distribution within the growing alternatives asset class, the memo shows. She joined Goldman in 2004, was made a managing director in 2015 and became partner in 2018.

The Wall Street lender also handed another longtime banker at the firm an expanded role, adding Americas head of equity derivatives to Michael Voris' duties.

Voris, already Goldman's co-head of equity capital markets in the Americas, will take on the equity derivatives role within the bank's investment-grade capital markets and derivatives operation, the memo shows. Voris joined Goldman in 2010 as a vice president, and was tapped as a managing director in 2011 and partner in 2020. —Anthony Hughes, Bloomberg News

HSBC hires JPMorgan’s Willis to lead precious metals sales

HSBC Holdings is hiring an executive director from precious metals giant JPMorganChase to lead its bullion sales operation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The bank is hiring James Willis, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. It's among the latest high-profile moves in the precious metals world, as a record-breaking rally draws new entrants into the market and fuels turnover in talent.

HSBC recently hired Mark Augustynak from ICBC Standard Bank to replace metals trading head Vincent Domien, who left along with a top salesperson for a brief spell at crypto giant Tether. Domien has since been tapped by ICBCS, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

HSBC and JPMorgan declined to comment, while Willis wasn't immediately reachable for comment. Reuters first reported the hire.

JPMorgan and HSBC are widely seen as the biggest players in precious metals trading. —Yihui Xie and Jack Ryan, Bloomberg News

Goldman says it’s settling shareholder class action over 1MDB

Goldman Sachs Group said it reached an "agreement in principle" to settle a shareholder class action claiming the bank and former top executives misled them about its involvement in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.

Lawyers from both Goldman and Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden, the lead plaintiff in the case, said in a Wednesday letter to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick in Manhattan that they've agreed to resolve the case "in its entirety," without providing details of the resolution. They said they plan to file the settlement agreement by May 20. Broderick must approve the deal for it to go forward.

Goldman declined comment.

The suit was first filed in 2018. The bank denied liability at the time but later agreed to pay more than $2.9 billion, the largest penalty of its kind in U.S. history, and more than $5 billion globally for its role in the scheme. Two Goldman bankers were convicted of helping to loot 1MDB. —Bob Van Voris, Bloomberg News