Corona consequences, high energy prices and increased interest rates are taking their toll: the number of company bankruptcies is increasing. But experts don’t want to talk about a “wave of bankruptcies”.
According to the financial information service Crif, the number of company bankruptcies in Germany will rise again to pre-Corona levels this year. After an increase of a good fifth (22.4 percent) to almost 17,850 cases last year, Crif is expecting 19,800 corporate insolvencies for 2024. That would be roughly as many as in the years before the pandemic (2018: 19,552, 2019: 19,005).
Official figures from the Federal Statistical Office for 2023 are expected in mid-March. According to the Wiesbaden authority, from January to November 2023 the number of company bankruptcies rose by almost a quarter (23.2 percent) to 16,264 cases compared to the same period last year. In 2022 as a whole, the Federal Office counted 14,590 company bankruptcies. For comparison: In the year of the economic crisis in 2009, there were almost 33,000 company bankruptcies in this country.
Despite rising numbers, no “wave of bankruptcies”
Despite the upward trend, there can be no question of a “wave of insolvencies”, Crif managing director Frank Schlein concluded: “The majority of companies are still in a good financial position, even if an increasing number of major bankruptcies can lead to further bankruptcies.”
From a regional perspective, however, the numbers increased “alarmingly” last year: for example in Bremen (plus 53.9 percent), where, according to Crif calculations, there was also the highest density of insolvencies with 113 bankruptcies per 10,000 companies. Berlin (100), Hamburg (78), North Rhine-Westphalia (76), Saarland (70), Schleswig-Holstein (64) and Hesse (60) were also above the national average of 59 bankruptcies per 10,000 companies. The fewest bankruptcies per 10,000 companies in 2023 were in Thuringia (38).
More bankruptcies in all federal states
According to the Crif figures, the number of insolvencies increased in all federal states compared to the previous year. More bankruptcies than a year earlier were recorded, especially in care facilities, call centers, restaurants, fitness studios and private security services. In absolute terms, according to Crif information, North Rhine-Westphalia (4,639), Bavaria (2,492) and Baden-Württemberg (1,862) reported the most company bankruptcies in 2023.
Other experts also expect that the number of company bankruptcies in Germany will continue to rise this year. Weakened by the Corona years, high energy prices and increased interest rates, more and more companies in Germany are getting into difficulties. In addition, exemptions with which the state tried to avert a wave of bankruptcies during the pandemic have expired. At the beginning of December, for example, the credit agency Creditreform described a number of “around 20,000” corporate bankruptcies in 2024 as realistic. Allianz Trade analysts expect around 20,260 cases.
Source: Stern
