He said the type of court action being used for bankruptcy suggested the rise in personalinsolvency was particularly affecting more affluent households.
Lady Wilcox said the government was carrying out a review into consumer credit and personalinsolvency, and there had been previous investigations of the issue.
Chris Nutting, director of personalinsolvency at accountants KPMG, said he expected the figures to lead to tighter lending conditions and higher costs for new credit as creditors counted their losses.