The number of German companies that submitted requests to declare their bankruptcy increased sharply in February amid the continued state of economic recession.
The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced today, Friday, that it recorded an increase of 12.1% in bankruptcy requests during last February on an annual basis.
With the exception of June 2024, bankruptcy growth rate has been in the category of dozens since June 2023.
According to the office data, the numbers include only bankruptcy cases in which the court issued a preliminary decision.
The companies usually submit a preliminary request to declare bankruptcy about 3 months before the date of the court’s decision.
Local courts recorded 21,812 cases of bankruptcy for companies for the entire 2024, an increase of 22.4%, compared to 2023, which also recorded an increase of 22.1%.
Germany has not seen this high bankruptcy number since 2015, when it recorded 23 thousand and 101 cases.
In 2024, creditors increased more than twice, to reach 58.1 billion euros, compared to 26.6 billion euros in 2023.
The office attributed this sharp increase to the high number of major bankruptcy cases whose claims exceeded 25 million euros, which increased by 127.5%, to 314 cases.
Most bankruptcy cases were in the transportation, warehouse, construction and other economic services sectors.
Contrary to the bankruptcy cases, the number of individuals ’bankruptcy increased by only 6.5%, to reach 71 thousand and 207 cases.
