Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lnw) - The number of company bankruptcies in North Rhine-Westphalia has continued to fall this year, contrary to the national trend. In total, a good 3,700 companies are expected to file for bankruptcy in the most populous federal state in 2022, 7.3 percent fewer than in the previous year, as the credit agency Creditreform reported on Tuesday. The insolvency rate - i.e. the number of insolvencies per 10,000 companies - fell from 65 to 61 in NRW.
The development in North Rhine-Westphalia differs significantly from that in Germany as a whole. For the first time since the economic crisis of 2009, the number of company bankruptcies has fallen across Germany. According to Creditreform estimates, a total of 14,700 companies will have gone to insolvency court by the end of the current year, around four percent more than in 2021.
However, the insolvency rate in NRW was still well above the national average of 49 insolvencies per 10,000 companies. Overall, the most populous federal state took 13th place in the state ranking. Only Berlin (86), Bremen (82) and Hamburg (62) did worse. The leader in the ranking was Bavaria with only 35 insolvencies per 10,000 companies.
Creditreform blames a number of reasons for the nationwide downward trend. "Persistent inflation, rising interest rates and energy costs, and an increasingly tough competitive situation are affecting the substance of many companies," said Patrik Ludwig Hantzsch, head of Creditreform's economic research.
Like many other experts, Creditreform also expects a further increase in corporate insolvencies next year: The increase from 2021 to 2022 is moderate, "but should only be the prelude to a further acceleration in insolvency activity".
According to Creditreform, the number of consumer bankruptcies in North Rhine-Westphalia even fell by 17.2 percent to almost 17,000 in 2022. However, a change in the law last year, which made it possible to be released from the remaining debt after three years instead of six, caused an unusual rush of over-indebted people to the district courts. According to experts, a number of those affected had waited until the new regulation came into force before filing for bankruptcy.
