The effect of bankruptcy on your credit score is certainly negative; a bankruptcy filing will remain on your credit reports for seven years before it drops off. However, any sort of delinquent payments or unpaid debts also will remain on your credit reports for seven years. Obviously, any negative credit history will negatively impact your credit score. Therefore, it is essential that you take steps following a bankruptcy discharge to improve your credit score to the extent possible. To some degree, only time can permanently remove any negative credit history and, thus, improve your credit score. However, you can also work on improving your credit score by reestablishing credit in the form of a bank loan secured by your bank account.