The number of declared bankruptcies increased significantly in the first half of 2023 compared to the previous year.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The economic downturn and rising loan interest rates caused the number of company bankruptcies in Germany to rise significantly in the first half of the year. It increased by 20.5 percent compared to the same period last year to 8,571, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday. The creditors’ claims totaled around 13.9 billion euros, significantly more than the year before with 8.2 billion euros.
The number of consumer bankruptcies, however, fell in the first six months of the year by 1.9 percent to 33,140.
Based on 10,000 companies, there were a total of 25.3 bankruptcies in Germany in the first half of the year. Most were in the transport and storage sector with 54.1 cases. This was followed by other economic services, which include temporary employment agencies, with 41.3 cases. The lowest frequency of insolvencies with 2.4 cases was in the energy supply sector.
The German economy shrank at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 and only stagnated in the spring. Many experts also expect a decline in gross domestic product for the year as a whole, not least because of increased interest rates and financing costs. “Against the background of the multitude of economic problems and uncertainties, higher numbers of insolvencies are to be expected in the next few months than in the previous year,” said economist Steffen Müller from the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH). However: “Despite the increasing risks, a wave of insolvencies is not in sight,” said the expert.
This is also indicated by the development of standard insolvencies filed in August: the number rose by 13.8 percent compared to the same month last year and is therefore no longer as strong as in July at 23.8 percent. With these results it should be taken into account that the proceedings are only included in the statistics after the first decision of the insolvency court. In many cases, the actual date of the insolvency application is almost three months beforehand.
More: The potential of the German economy will dwindle significantly in the next few years