More bankruptcies: What is coming our way?

Last Updated: 12. Dezember 2023By

During the coronavirus pandemic, a state of emergency prevailed everywhere. This was also causing problems for many companies. In Germany, there was financial support for numerous sectors. In addition, the notification requirement in case of insolvency was suspended from March 2020 to April 2021.

Normally, German entrepreneurs must declare bankruptcy in the event of inability to pay or over-indebtedness. During the pandemic, this was not necessary for smaller companies. This was intended to protect companies that had come into short-term difficulty due to Corona and to give them the opportunity to get back on track after the pandemic.

Was the suspension of the notification requirement dangerous? Critics already warned when it was introduced that this measure to protect companies was dangerous. If companies no longer have any money in the cash register, nothing can be saved, argued, for example, Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hölzle, a specialist lawyer for insolvency law. In addition, modern German insolvency law could be thrown back decades.

In addition, some experts complained that the problems would not be solved by suspending the bankruptcy requirement, but merely postponed.

Meanwhile, the notification requirement is back in force and the number of company insolvencies is indeed increasing. In June there were as many insolvencies as there had been in seven years. Statisticians are trying to calm down. „We don’t see an insolvency wave that sweeps everything away economically,“ Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch of Creditreform is quoted on tagesschau.de. The number of bankruptcies will increase, but at the beginning of the millennium it would have been much higher.

18,000 bankruptcies this year This year, the credit agency Creditreform expects 18,100 insolvent companies. Last year there were only 14,700 bankruptcies. Next year, 20,000 bankruptcies are expected. However, according to the turn of the millennium, the number of bankruptcies was still 30,000 to 40,000 companies.

According to tagesschau.de, the figures from the Federal Statistical Office indicate that the logistics sector is particularly prone to bankruptcy. This includes forwarding agents, transport companies or companies that operate warehouses and distribute goods. Creditreform comes to a different result. According to its figures, the construction industry is particularly at risk. Here, the number of bankruptcies of construction companies and property developers quadrupled in 2022, the number of road construction companies tripled.

According to the analysis of the statisticians, in particular, small, capital-weak companies could get into trouble and declare bankruptcy. According to tagesschau.de, the official statistics, which summarize reports from German insolvency courts, also show that in half of the cases young companies are affected.

Poor future prospects In addition, the conditions for companies will deteriorate rather than improve in the next few years. The costs of the „green“ transformation, lack of digitalization, lack of workers, high interest rates and the weak economy are increasingly weighing on companies.

What you should do No matter how many companies will ultimately be affected, the increase in corporate insolvencies will not pass us by unnoticed. New problems are rolling towards us that could also have an impact on your assets.

Therefore, adjust your investment strategy accordingly. You can find recommendations in „Secure Money“, the advisory service for critical investors who want active asset protection. Loyal readers were able to protect and increase their assets despite the crisis with the information from „Secure Money“ in the last two years. Do you want to benefit in the future?