In the first six months, 2,098 corporate bankruptcies were opened, representing an increase of 35.8 percent compared to the previous year and reaching the highest level in fifteen years.
The Alpine Creditors Association (AKV Europa) announced this in a press release on Monday. The liabilities (the sum of the capital made available to a company, note) have even increased tenfold compared to the same period last year to 11.5 billion euros. 2023 was already marked by major bankruptcies in the retail and real estate sectors. The AKV predicts around 7,000 bankruptcies for 2024.
The majority of the debts in the first half of the year were due to bankruptcies involving Signa founder René Benko, his private foundation and Signa companies. So far, only a fraction of the claims have been acknowledged.
The bankruptcy of the Austrian subsidiary of the American electric car manufacturer Fisker added around 1.5 billion euros to the debt. In the restructuring process with own management, however, the responsible obligations have not yet been determined.
The number of jobs at risk remains constant
Although the number of bankruptcies has increased enormously, the number of jobs at risk remained constant at 9,411 employees. According to the AKV, it is positive that the share of self-applications has increased again.
The reasons for the high number of corporate bankruptcies:
- The unwillingness to consume and invest caused problems for many companies.
- High interest rates and a lack of demand for credit are putting pressure on new construction.
- The retail sector was hit by the current economic situation with 529 bankruptcies, followed by construction (493) and the catering industry with 356 registrations.
However, in the first half of the year, 1,577 corporate bankruptcies were resolved. In 28.79 percent of cases, a restructuring plan was concluded and in 6.53 percent, a payment plan was agreed. In about a third of the procedures, proposals for debt relief were accepted. And 27.46 percent of bankruptcies ended in a total loss for the creditors.
Personal bankruptcies: 4,600 procedures
For private bankruptcies, things look more positive: 4,600 procedures were opened, 1.25 percent more than in the same period last year. However, the number of rejected applications fell by 0.91 percent to 434 cases. This means that in the first half of the year there was only an increase of around one percent with 5,034 procedures.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
