Overview
- Preliminary data show requested regular insolvencies rose 15.2% year over year in December 2025, with filings recorded after courts’ first decisions that typically lag applications by about three months.
- Final October figures list 2,108 corporate cases, while creditor claims fell to about €2.6 billion from €3.8 billion a year earlier, reflecting fewer very large failures despite more cases.
- The transport and storage sector had the highest insolvency frequency in October, followed by hospitality and construction, underscoring concentrated stress among service and building firms.
- IWH estimates put 2025 corporate insolvencies at roughly 17,604, the highest level in about 20 years, with analysts noting counts exceeded those seen during the 2009 financial crisis.
- Outlooks point to continued strain in 2026: DATEV flags rising risk for small businesses and gastronomy, Falkensteg projects a 10%–20% increase to around 530 large cases, and Destatis will cease publishing provisional monthly insolvency figures after December.