Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that the number of bankruptcies among German companies increased significantly last month, due to a slowdown in economic growth and the impact of tightening ECB monetary policy.
According to the report, the number of bankruptcies rose by 12.3% per annum in December after an increase of 18.8% per annum in November. Destatis stated that double-digit growth rates have been recorded since June 2023.
According to the final results, in October, the district courts reported 1,481 applications for bankruptcy of enterprises. This is 19.0% more than in October 2022. From January to October 2023, the number of business bankruptcies increased by 24.1% per annum, to 14,751 cases. However, this figure was only slightly higher than the low level for the same period in 2021, due to special rules for combating coronavirus (+1.3%). Compared to the same period in 2019 preceding the coronavirus, the number of corporate bankruptcies fell by 7.7% from January to October 2023.
According to estimates by local courts, creditor claims from corporate bankruptcies reported in October 2023 amounted to just under €1.6 billion. As of October 2022, accounts receivable amounted to about €0.8 billion.