German corporate bankruptcies surge amid recession

The number of German companies filing for bankruptcy rose again sharply in February amid the ongoing recession, figures released on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office showed, reported dpa.

The office recorded a 12.1% increase in insolvency filings compared to the same month last year.

With the exception of June 2024, growth rates for bankruptcies have been in the double digits since June 2023.

The figures only include bankruptcy cases in which a court has made a first decision, the agency emphasized. For most companies, the initial bankruptcy filing was usually about three months prior to the decision date.

District courts reported 21,812 corporate insolvencies for the whole of 2024, 22.4% more than in the previous year, when an increase of 22.1% had already been recorded.

The country has not seen such a high number of bankruptcy filings since 2015, when there were 23,101 cases.

In 2024, creditors' claims more than doubled to €58.1 billion ($63.1 billion), compared to €26.6 billion the previous year.

The sharp increase was due to the much higher number of major insolvencies with claims in excess of €25 million, which rose by 127.5% to 314 cases, the office said.

Most of the insolvencies were in the transport and warehouse, construction and other economic services sectors. In contrast to corporate insolvencies, the number of consumer bankruptcies only rose slightly by 6.5% to 71,207.