Postponed bankruptcy wave: number of bankruptcies also falls in May

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Bankruptcies in Germany: so far fewer than in the previous year

Despite the corona crisis, the number of bankruptcies in Germany has continued to decline. In May, the local courts reported 1504 corporate insolvencies, 9.9 percent less than a year earlier, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Monday. As early as April, the number of bankruptcies fell by 13.4 percent compared to the same month last year. But appearances are deceptive: After all, an important reason for the decline is that the obligation to file for insolvency for companies has been suspended since March 1, 2020.

The economic hardship of many companies due to the Corona crisis has not yet been reflected in the evaluation, explained the statisticians. If this regulation falls from October, the experts expect a significant increase. Business associations are therefore calling for the obligation to file for insolvency to be suspended beyond the end of September.

Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (55, SPD) also wants to exempt over-indebted companies from the obligation to file for bankruptcy for a longer period of time. "In order to give over-indebted companies caused by the pandemic to reorganize themselves through the economic activity that is picking up again in many industries or government offers of assistance, I will propose that these companies continue to suspend the obligation to file for bankruptcy until the end of March 2021," Lambrecht told the "Bild" newspaper ( Saturday). The regulation should only apply to companies that are overindebted due to the pandemic, but are not insolvent.

Majority of bankruptcies in retail

Union parliamentary group Vice Thorsten Frei (47) signaled support. From the point of view of his group, however, an extension until the new year is too long: "I consider the end of the year to be an appropriate time. This is how we ensure that companies that have a chance of recovery can recover for another three months."

Most corporate insolvencies in May were in retail, including auto repair shops with 247 cases. Construction companies filed 235 bankruptcies. There were 168 filed for bankruptcy in professional, scientific and technical services and 164 in hospitality. On average, the companies that filed for bankruptcy were larger than a year ago, because the expected claims of the creditors were at just under 3.1 billion euros, well above the figure for the same month last year of 2.5 billion euros.

As in the previous months, the number of standard insolvency proceedings opened in Germany continued to decline in July. On the basis of preliminary data, it fell by 29.1 percent in July compared to the same month last year.

mg / dpa-afx, Reuters