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Discontinued business in Oldenburg (in April)
Photo: Hauke-Christian Dittrich / dpa
Even in the second year of the corona pandemic, the feared bankruptcy wave in the German economy did not materialize.
According to estimates by the credit agency Creditreform, the number of company bankruptcies will fall this year by 10.8 percent to the record low of 14,300 cases.
One reason for this is likely to be the billions in aid from the state for companies affected by the corona restrictions.
"We measured the lowest value for corporate bankruptcies since the introduction of the bankruptcy code in 1999 and only counted half as many bankruptcies as in 2012," said the head of Creditreform economic research, Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch.
The number of consumer bankruptcies, on the other hand, is increasing significantly.
Despite the corona restrictions, which hit the catering and retail sectors hard, a wave of bankruptcies was prevented by state support measures, according to Hantzsch.
However, Creditreform does not expect a further decline in company bankruptcies in the coming year.
»We are not assuming a wave of insolvencies, but we do expect an increase in retail and catering in particular.
In the commercial sector, the numbers are likely to stagnate, ”said Hantzsch.
Despite the lower number of cases, the amount of damage for the creditors increased to an estimated 54.0 billion euros after 42.6 billion euros in the previous year.
According to Creditreform, the main reasons were some major bankruptcies in the real estate and financial sectors, including the spectacular bankruptcy of Greensill Bank in Bremen.
According to Creditreform, the number of consumer bankruptcies this year jumped by an estimated 81 percent to 76,500 cases.
The credit agency attributes this in particular to the fact that many of those affected had waited for a legal reform.
After that, they will be released from their remaining debts after three years instead of the previous six years.
»With a view to the change in the law, many affected consumers had waited to file for bankruptcy in the previous year.
Now there will be massive catch-up effects in 2021, ”said Hantzsch.
Creditreform expects the number of consumer bankruptcies to increase gradually, but no longer at the pace of the past few months.
"How exactly it goes from here depends heavily on macroeconomic developments and the associated unemployment."
fdi / dpa
