German business insolvencies hit 11-year high in first 9 months

ISTANBUL

Germany's corporate insolvencies climbed 11.7% year-on-year in the January-September period, reaching their highest level in 11 years, according to preliminary estimates by the federal statistical office Destatis on Friday.

The number of insolvencies in the nine-month period amounted to 18,125, the data showed. They were most common in the transportation and storage, construction, and hospitality sectors.

"The courts estimated the claims of creditors from the corporate insolvencies reported from the first to the third quarter of 2025 at approximately €40.1 billion. In the first to the third quarter of 2024, the claims amounted to approximately €45.6 billion," a Destatis statement said.

Destatis said that this monetary decrease in claims, despite the rising number of corporate insolvencies, was due to the fact that more economically significant companies filed for insolvency in the first three quarters of 2024 than in the first to the third quarter of 2025.

In September alone, there were 1,940 corporate insolvency filings in Germany, marking a 6.7% year-on-year rise.

Excluding corporate insolvencies, 57,824 debtors also filed for personal insolvency between January and September of this year, marking an 8.3% increase compared to the same period in 2024.