The number of company bankruptcies in Germany has risen again. According to preliminary information from the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday, 13.2 percent more standard insolvencies were applied for in March than in February. At that time, the number of company bankruptcies had already increased by 10.8 percent compared to January. The statisticians emphasized that the insolvency applications are often included in the statistics with a delay of several months.
Final figures are only available for January 2023. The German district courts reported 1,271 corporate insolvencies – around a fifth more than in the same month last year. The district courts put the expected claims of the creditors at almost 2.3 billion euros. Most company bankruptcies in January were in the construction industry with 246 cases. This was followed by trading in 204 procedures.
In recent years, state aid and the partially suspended obligation to file for insolvency have led to low-level company bankruptcies despite the corona and energy crises.
According to the professional association of insolvency administrators and administrators in Germany, the increase in company bankruptcies “in a long-term comparison only points to a normalization of insolvency events,” explained its chairman Christoph Niering. More company bankruptcies in a specific industry, such as currently in the construction and fashion industries, are not yet an indication of a poorer economic development in Germany in the long term. (dpa)