Bank of New England returns to the Merrimack Valley

Amid the growing mortgage-debt crisis, personal bankruptcies nearly doubled in Metro Orlando last year, although they remained far lower than the record levels earlier this decade, according to court figures released this week.

Nearly 7,060 debtors declared insolvency in Orlando's federal bankruptcy court in 2007, up 96 percent from 2006, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida reported.

Fueled by the mortgage crisis, personal bankruptcy is reaching all levels of the income spectrum -- from affluent professionals to lower-income subprime borrowers, bankruptcy lawyers said.

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