Germany is facing a continued rise in corporate bankruptcies, with new figures showing that business failures increased again in October. According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office, insolvency proceedings rose by 6.5 percent compared with the same month last year.
Final figures for August show a steeper increase. Local courts reported 1,979 corporate insolvencies, around 12 percent more than a year earlier. Creditors’ claims amounted to approximately €5.4 billion, more than double the amount recorded last August. The highest insolvency rates were found in transportation and warehousing, followed by construction and hospitality. Consumer bankruptcies also climbed by just over eight percent to 6,132 cases.
As reported by Welt, credit agencies expect the total number of bankruptcies this year to exceed 2024, when 21,812 companies filed for insolvency, the highest figure since 2015. Businesses cite high energy costs, bureaucracy, and weak consumer spending as contributing factors. Protective measures that delayed bankruptcies during the Covid-19 pandemic have also expired.
Credit insurer Allianz Trade forecasts around 24,500 corporate insolvencies in 2025, a rise of 1 percent, and says the situation may not begin to improve until 2027. The company expects insolvencies to fall to about 23,500 cases at that point. In a recent analysis, Allianz Trade also warned that the consequences of ongoing trade disputes could further test business resilience.
The Federal Association of German Industry (BDI), in a declaration published in April and signed by more than 100 associations, said the economic situation in Europe’s largest economy had “deteriorated dramatically” and described the crisis as largely “homemade” compared with other countries.
BDI general manager Tanja Gönner said, “every scope must be used to relieve companies in order for the tax burden to quickly become internationally competitive.”
Further pressure is also being seen in major company failures. Allianz Trade reported that Germany recorded 87 large insolvencies in 2024, an increase of 36 percent over the previous year. The combined turnover of these companies reached €17.4 billion. For 2025, the insurer expects around 24,400 insolvencies overall, followed by about 25,050 in 2026.
In an interview with Tagesschau in April, publicly appointed auctioneer Jürgen Philippi said the situation was now more severe than during the 2008 financial crisis. “More and more industries are affected,” he said, adding that he had turned away clients due to workload.
Philippi also noted a decline in buyers willing to take over distressed companies, citing complaints from managers about bureaucracy and tax burdens.
