Germany has more company bankruptcies than ever since 2014 – and despite economic hopes, there is no all-clear for the coming year. “The bottom line is that, based on the current forecast, we do not assume that the number of insolvencies will stagnate or even decline in 2026,” says the head of Creditreform economic research, Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch.
According to projections by the credit agency, 23,900 companies will have filed for bankruptcy by the end of the current year. That would be over eight percent more than in the previous year. In 2014, according to official information, almost 24,100 companies in this country gave up. Figures from the Federal Statistical Office for 2025 will be available next March.
Medium-sized businesses under pressure
“Many companies are heavily indebted, have difficulty obtaining new loans and are struggling with structural burdens such as energy prices or regulation,” says Hantzsch. This puts medium-sized companies in particular under pressure.
It mostly affects companies with a maximum of ten employees, which account for four out of five bankruptcies. But 140 larger companies also went bankrupt in 2025 – for example several clinic operators. Across all insolvencies, the damage totals around 57 billion euros, which is only slightly below the high figure for the previous year (59.1 billion euros). An estimated 285,000 jobs have been threatened or lost due to bankruptcies this year.
Job cuts and rising unemployment are aggravating the financial situation of many private households: Creditreform expects 76,300 cases of consumer insolvency this year – an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the previous year.
When it comes to company bankruptcies, the number of bankruptcies rose particularly significantly in the manufacturing and retail sectors. The highest number of bankruptcies, more than 14,000, occurred in the service industry, which includes the catering industry.
Bankruptcy rates are no longer rising as much as after Corona
A small ray of hope: corporate insolvencies have not increased as rapidly this year as in previous years. After the government aid for the corona pandemic, which had ensured the survival of many companies, expired, the numbers in 2023 and 2024 jumped by almost a quarter each.
Many economists expect that the government’s billions in investments in infrastructure such as roads and railways as well as in defense will stimulate economic growth in 2026. According to Creditreform, this could at least slow down the increase in insolvencies.
“It will take some time until the federal infrastructure boosters arrive,” predicts Hantzsch. In addition, money does not solve structural problems: “You can pay bills with money, but it doesn’t automatically make you more profitable.” The list of burdens is long: high energy prices, a lot of bureaucracy, cautious consumers, trade barriers.
Lull in consumption
Food and services have become more expensive, and many people are holding back on purchases that are not absolutely necessary. There are more bankruptcies in retail than there have been in years. Affected, among others: the shoe retailer Görtz, the fashion manufacturer Gerry Weber and the men’s outfitter Wormland.
The credit insurer Allianz Trade counted 2,490 retail bankruptcies between August 2024 and August 2025 – almost as many as nine years ago, when a negative record was set with 2,520 cases.
In order to withstand competition from online marketplaces, retailers would have to invest more in digital channels and modern technology, analyzes Allianz Trade industry expert Guillaume Dejean: “This is a battle that is partly reminiscent of David against Goliath.”
Sales crisis
A whole host of problems are troubling the automotive industry: US tariffs, Chinese electric car competition, slumping sales. Within a year, almost 50,000 jobs were cut in the German automotive industry. Suppliers went bankrupt one after the other.
Customs hurdles
Allianz Trade expects more corporate bankruptcies worldwide in the coming year – because higher US tariffs will hit export-oriented economies with full force. The risk of domino effects is increasing. For Germany, analysts expect a slight increase to 24,500 cases in 2026.
Reform backlog – even in your own company
Not every imbalance can be explained by unfavorable conditions. “The cause of the business failure is too quickly identified as rising tariffs or high energy costs,” commented the chairman of the Association of Insolvency Administrators and Trustees in Germany (VID), Christoph Niering, on the rising number of insolvencies in the summer. “A dangerous misjudgment, as this means that remediation measures are addressed too late or not comprehensively enough.”
In addition, economic change also requires failure, argues the VID and cites the President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, as a key witness: “The stigma of entrepreneurial failure contributes significantly to hostility to innovation, especially in Germany. It is urgently necessary to establish a new start-up culture that allows mistakes, honors risks and rewards courage.”